Flora Mitchell
Ireland has become the first EU nation to call Israel’s illegal settlement activity on Palestinian land a “de facto annexation”.
It is the strongest condemnation of Israeli settlement expansion by a Western country. Ireland’s parliament, or Oireachtas, passed the motion unanimously on May 26, less than a week after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that halted 11 days of fighting. Amendments to expel Israel’s ambassador to Ireland and for Irish sanctions against Israel were defeated.
In a tweet, Israel’s foreign ministry called Ireland’s position on its settlements “outrageous and baseless”.
Some Irish politicians say the move could be the first step towards holding the Israeli government accountable for illegal activity under international law. In other cases of annexation – such as Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea – EU sanctions have been imposed.
In this episode of The Stream, we’ll discuss the implications of Ireland’s latest show of solidarity for Palestine.
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