Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Everybody in this country knows that the settlements are illegal. They have been condemned by the UN, which stated that they were in breach of international law. The International Court of Justice has ruled that they are illegal and in breach of the Geneva Convention. Today, 800,000 Israeli citizens live in illegal settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Maybe it has gone too far for expressing deep concern and pressing the EU to take action over these settlements.

The Minister said he advised citizens not to invest in the settlements, but we know that one of our own corporations, CRH, was actively involved in the construction of an apartheid wall in the West Bank.

It has gone beyond the stage of advising and expressing deep concern. We need to take more concrete action than that. Ireland should take more proactive steps to ensure the settlements are stopped.

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