Irish lower house passes bill to ban Israeli settlement goods
The bill, put forward by Irish Senator Frances Black, seeks to ban import or sale of goods produced by settlements in occupied West Bank
From Aljazeera:
The Israeli foreign ministry has reprimanded Ireland’s ambassador Alison Kelly after the lower house of Irish parliament voted in favour of a bill that will ban the purchase of goods and services from the illegal Israeli settlements.
In a statement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a shame that Ireland “condemns the only democratic state in the Middle East”.
“Israel is outraged over the legislation against it in the Irish parliament, which is indicative of hypocrisy and anti-Semitism,” the statement said.
Last December, the upper house of the Irish parliament, the Seanad, voted in favour of the decision despite attempts by the United States, European powers and Israel to thwart it.
The bill, put forward by independent Irish Senator Frances Black, seeks to ban the import or sale of goods produced by settlements in the occupied West Bank.
It was then passed on to the Dail, the lower house of Irish parliament, by Senator Niall Collins from the largest opposition party, the Fianna Fail.
On Thursday, the Dail overwhelmingly backed the bill by a vote of 78-45.