Ireland’s lower house approved the Occupied Territories Bill on Thursday which will outlaw the sale of products from Israel’s Golan Heights, West Bank, and east Jerusalem.
According to CBN News, the Irish Parliament’s lower house passed the bill with a 75 to 45 vote on Thursday, sending it up the ladder to the third step in the process of the bill becoming a law.
After the vote propelled the legislation forward, members of Parliament took to social media to share the news.
The bill’s founder Frances Black tweeted, “Amazing! First the Seanad, now the Dáil: an overwhelming majority have voted for the Occupied Territories Bill 2018 and a ban on illegal #SettlementGoods! Ireland will always stand for international law + human rights, & we're one step closer to making history. Onwards.”
Amazing! First the Seanad, now the Dáil: an overwhelming majority have voted for the Occupied Territories Bill 2018 and a ban on illegal #SettlementGoods! Ireland will always stand for international law + human rights, & we're one step closer to making history. Onwards 👍🇮🇪🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/28LKTZzAw0
— Frances Black (@frances_black) January 24, 2019
Seán Crowe, another Irish Senator, also tweeted, “Delighted @frances_black Occupied Territories Bill has now passed 2nd Stage in the Dáil & moves onto the next legislative step. @sinnfeinireland will continue to support this Bill in the next legislatives stages.”
Delighted @frances_black Occupied Territories Bill has now passed 2nd Stage in the Dáil & moves onto the next legislative step. @sinnfeinireland will continue to support this Bill in the next legislatives stages. You can view my speech on the Bill here: https://t.co/ZavqW7VhmA
— Seán Crowe (@SeanCroweTD) January 24, 2019
When Israeli officials received news about the vote, they immediately voiced extreme disappointment over the outcome calling it “a clear expression" of discrimination.
A statement from the Israeli Ministry reads, “This is a clear expression of obsessive discrimination that should be rejected with disgust.”
It continues saying that the bill “is indicative of hypocrisy and anti-Semitism.”
According to the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Ophir Kariv, if the bill passes, Ireland would be "the most extreme anti-Israel, although not pro-Palestinian country, outside Iran and the Middle East."
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has noted, however, that because the bill involves international trade policies, it cannot be voted into law without the approval of the European Union.
Photo courtesy: Diogo Palhais/Unsplash