Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday of last week, there were media reports that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had ordered a freeze on the construction of illegal colonial settlements. Has the Minister heard anything in that regard? Two days later, however, on Thursday of last week, the Israeli Government signed off on plans to build nearly 300 new settlements near Ramallah, which dashed the hopes of many.

I welcome the fact that the Minister has outlined a timescale with regard to the introduction of a labelling regime. However, I believe a ban is the best way forward and would have the most impact. It might not have an enormous impact economically but it would help to raise awareness of the settlement issue and, hopefully, put a halt to the construction of many illegal settlements.

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