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Arab League backs Irish bill to boycott Israel settlement produce

July 13, 2018 at 11:15 am

The Arab League in session at the Arab League office in Cairo, Egypt [Ahmed Gamil/Anadolu]

The Arab League yesterday welcomed the Irish Senate’s vote in favour of a bill that would ban the import of products from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The league’s Assistant Secretary-General for Palestinian and Occupied Arab Territories Affairs, Saeed Abu Ali, said that the Irish move was “courageous and daring”, stressing that it signalled an international message to the Israeli occupation that it must pay for committing crimes against the Palestinian people.

“Ireland’s decision reflects true harmony with moral values and international law,” Abu Ali added.

The Arab official described those countries who deal with the Israeli settlements as “systematic accomplices in denying Palestinian rights and sustaining Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.”

Ireland’s decision to advance boycott bill could be the tipping point for justice for Palestine

Abu Ali called on other European Union (EU) states and the rest of the international community to follow Ireland and “to be courageous enough to hold Israel accountable for all its committed crimes.”

On Wednesday, Ireland’s senate has voted in favour of a bill banning the importation of products from Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, paving the way for the country to become the first EU nation to enforce a boycott.

The bill, which prohibits “trade with and economic support for illegal settlements in territories deemed occupied under the international law”, still needs to pass in both houses of parliament before becoming law.