Mr. Éamonn Meehan:

I will defer to Dr. Erakat and Dr. Power on de facto annexation and on providing more detail on the range of countermeasures. Perhaps Dr. Erakat might provide more detail on domestic Israeli politics.

Israel has already annexed East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golande jure. From the perspective of the international community, it is clearly in breach of its international legal obligations as an occupying power. When Russia occupied Crimea in 2015 or 2016, the EU and various countries had no difficulty in identifying a range of countermeasures to apply to Russia, including sanctions against the assets of individuals, travel bans and the prevention of technology transfer. It is very easy for civil servants and others in individual capitals and Brussels and at the UN Security Council to come up with a very strong list. Therefore, we do not need to wait for recognition of de facto annexation. Israel is already in serious breach de jure. It has announced it. What are we waiting for? For how long do we do nothing and allow the situation that Dr. Erakat has so eloquently described to be allowed to persist? Her family cannot drive down the road and enjoy the waters of the Dead Sea or River Jordan. Dr. Power might say something about how de facto annexation is recognised, and Dr. Erakat may have more to say on countermeasures.