Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was dismayed at the announcement yesterday that the US Administration, in a significant policy shift, no longer views the Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land as illegal. The US is demonstrating yet again that it is determined to rip up decades of carefully developed international law and human rights protections. It is frightening, not because of some obscure legal argument but because it paves the way for formal annexation of the West Bank and for immense suffering on the ground. The Geneva Convention is absolutely clear that transferring civilians to occupied territory seized during war is illegal. It is a war crime, under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and there is overwhelming international legal consensus on this point. It has been reaffirmed time and again by the UN, the EU, the International Court of Justice and the Government. In Europe, we need to recognise that we are at a crossroads. If we maintain the policy of the past decades, which is essentially to criticise the Israeli occupation but support it financially, we will facilitate annexation. We have been copying and pasting the same statement of concern for years. If we carry on down this path, we will drive past the last exit on the road to annexation and the possibility of an independent Palestinian state will be gone. We will not be able to say we did not see it coming. Last year, I tabled the Occupied Territories Bill so that we could take a meaningful, peaceful, concrete step against this process and the settlements. We famously stood up and offered leadership on apartheid South Africa in the 1980s and I call on the Government to show some bravery and do the same in this regard. We can pass this Bill tomorrow with its support. I call on the Government to drop the pretence of legal opposition to the Bill and listen to the UN human rights rapporteur, Michael Lynk, who just last month urged the international community to end its financial support for the illegal settlements and ban the import of settlement goods. I urge the Government to read the letter published in The Guardianthis week from a group of eminent Israeli citizens, including former ambassadors, attorneys general, speakers of the parliament and recipients of the Israel Prize. They say:

We believe that the occupation is morally corrosive, strategically shortsighted, and thoroughly detrimental to peace. The international community has taken insufficient action in addressing this reality. Europe continues to support the occupation financially by allowing trade with Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. . . .

As Israelis who care about the future of our country, we ask the European Union to ban the import of settlement goods in order to support a just future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

This Government needs to realise that thestatus quohas not worked and it will only lead to annexation. It has a choice to make; it can take meaningful action or it can let the Pompeos of this world have their way.