Dr. John Reynolds:

I thank Senator Higgins for the question. On the point on acquisition of territory by force, ultimately what the Bill is about is highlighting and addressing the settlements in illegally occupied territory as an obstacle to peace and a form of annexation of Palestinian territory. Everybody is very well aware of the growth and expansion of settlements over time, and of the fact that at the time of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s there were approximately 250 illegal settlers in Palestinian territory, by the time the original version of the Bill was introduced a number of years ago there were more than 600,000 and now the figure is approaching 800,000. We can see the exponential growth of the settlements.

The one area slated for settlement construction and expansion throughout all of this time since the 1990s is what is known as the E1 corridor. It is a crucial, central part of the West Bank. If it were to be settled by Israel, it would entirely sever the north and south of the West Bank. It would affect the largest remaining area of Palestinian land in the Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah area. This has been a very clear red line for the European Union for a long time. It is also the one Israeli policy the US has strongly opposed.

The Israeli Government, having kept it on hold for a long number of years, is actively moving to approve and go ahead in the coming months and years with more than 3,000 settlement units in this area. The Israeli finance minister is on record as saying that this is something the government is working on professionally, that this is how to kill the Palestinian state de facto, and that, God willing, there will be Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank during this term of government. This is the reality of the annexation and the urgency of the situation.

How will the international community respond to this continuing drive for the construction of further settlements? The International Court of Justice has stated that the settlements and the settlement infrastructure amount to de facto annexation if allowed to be maintained. It said that not only in last year's advisory opinion but in its 2004 advisory opinion. It is clear that it is long past time for Ireland, the European Union and the wider international community to take concrete action. With these developments in mind, I urge the committee to recommend the most ambitious version of the Bill.