Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have consistently highlighted the Government’s deep concern at the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, which are actively undermining the prospects for a comprehensive peace agreement to end the conflict. I have publicly condemned recent Israeli Government announcements of further settlement expansion and called for these decisions to be reversed. I repeated these concerns during my visit to Israel and the Palestinian territory last week, most notably in my meeting with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Lieberman. This visit also allowed me to see, on the ground, some of the effects that settlements and the measures taken to support them have had upon the existing local communities.

Ireland has consistently pressed the European Union to focus on settlements as a key element to be addressed if a Middle East peace agreement is to be achieved, and we have argued for stronger action on the issue. This could include both more emphatic public and diplomatic messaging and action on specific aspects of the settlement programme, such as land seizures, evictions and demolitions of Palestinian facilities. The EU has already taken a number of actions. Most important, goods produced in settlements attract a higher import duty than goods from Israel, the Palestinian territory or many other places. EU research grants may not be spent in settlements. The EU does not accept Israeli veterinary certification of meat from settlements. Many EU members, including Ireland, advise their citizens against investing or buying property in settlements. The EU has also been examining the question of labelling of settlement products, and I have pressed for that to be moved forward.

I would like the international community, including the EU, to be more active on this issue, and I will pursue this issue further with the High Representative of the European Union at our next meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

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