The Irish Senate has put on hold a controversial bill that would have banned the import of products from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, after Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney issued a surprising statement saying he opposes the bill.
"Settlement construction is consistently undercutting Palestinians' hope for the future," Coveney said on Tuesday, adding that such construction is "unjust and provocative."
However, he said that despite this view, he opposes the bill, because "there are many countries around the world about which we have serious human rights concerns. We do not seek to prevent trade with those countries, except in very rare circumstances, in accordance with decisions at the EU or U.N. level."
Coveney's suprise announcement came hours before the Senate was supposed to vote to the bill, which includes a five-year prison term for those who violate its provisions. If passed, Ireland would become the first European country to ban settlement products, though several countries already label them. In light of the government's view on the bill, it is unclear whether it will be voted upon any time soon.
In 2015, the European Union approved guidelines to label settlement products. It said the move was meant to differentiate between Israel, a close trade partner, and the settlements, which it considers illegal.
Although the Irish bill makes a similar distinction, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it aims to harm his country and would bolster the international movement that advocates boycotts against Israel. Netanyahu has asked officials to summon the Irish Ambassador to Israel, Alison Kelly, for a meeting to discuss the bill. Netanyahu's office also issued a statement condemning the bill, saying it gives tailwind to "those who seek to boycott Israel and completely contravenes the guiding principles of free trade and justice."
Meanwhile, a group of Israeli activists, including prominent former officials and left-wing activists, published a letter on Tuesday urging the passage of the bill. Senior officials in the left-wing New Israel Fund were among those who signed the letter, as was Miki Kratsman, board chairman board of the anti-IDF group Breaking the Silence.
"We, concerned citizens of Israel ... urge Ireland to support any legislation that will help enforce differentiation between Israel per se and the settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem," they wrote in the Irish Times. "We are convinced that Israel's ongoing occupation of the Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is morally and strategically unsustainable, is detrimental to peace, and poses a threat to the security of Israel itself. It has been enabled by the leniency of the international community, whose rhetoric regarding the dire situation in Palestine has not been matched by appropriate action."
The New Israel Fund issued a statement after the publication of the letter saying the people on its board "are private people and we have no comment on their private lives." Breaking the Silence said Kratsman "is not just one of the founders of the organization, but also received the Emet Prize from Benjamin Netanyahu."
Meanwhile, in Slovenia, the country's parliament is expected to vote on recognizing "Palestine" in coming weeks. Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Tuesday that such a decision would be "fair and just." He said that "all three ruling parties support this measure – this is our contribution to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians."
He added that his country will not "rush into a decision."
