Law outlawing W. Bank products casts shadow over Irish FM visit

The “Occupied Territories Bill” currently snaking its way through Irish parliament would mean that imposing fines of up to €250,000 or five years in jail could on those selling settlement products.

By HERB KEINON
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney speaks during a news conference in Dublin, Ireland, April 12, 2018. (photo credit: CLODAGH KILCOYNE/REUTERS)
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney speaks during a news conference in Dublin, Ireland, April 12, 2018.
(photo credit: CLODAGH KILCOYNE/REUTERS)
Israel will convey to visiting Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney the severe damage that a proposed Irish law to criminalize buying or selling goods from beyond the 1967 lines would have on Israeli-Irish ties, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Coveney, whose country – along with Sweden – is considered inside the EU to be the most critical of Israel, is scheduled to arrive on Monday for a two-day trip.
The “Occupied Territories Bill” that is currently snaking its way through the Irish parliament would, if it passes, mean that fines of up to €250,000 or five years in jail could be imposed on merchants in Ireland selling dates from settlements in the Jordan Valley, wine from the Golan Heights, or any goods or services coming from east Jerusalem.
The bill has already passed the Irish senate, and must pass through five stages in the lower house before being enacted as law. Israeli officials have said they are hoping the bill – which is currently between the second and third stage – will not move forward.
One way of stopping it would be for the government to enact a so-called “money messages” provision that allows it to block bills that might have a negative financial impact.
Coveney and his Fine Gael party, which leads a minority government, have come out against the bill. The foreign minister said last year that while the bill would send “an important signal to the Palestinian people,” it would not enhance Ireland’s international position.
Coveney wrote at the time on Twitter that “The Irish government has always condemned construction of illegal settlements. But this bill asks Irish [government] to do something it is not legally empowered to do – trade is an EU competence, not an Irish one.”
Coveney is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who are expected to make clear to him the gravity with which Israel views this proposed legislation, and the ramifications such a step would have on bilateral ties.
It is not clear what retaliatory action Israel would take if the bill passes, but one idea that has been discussed in the past is closing its embassy in Dublin and using that money to open an embassy in a country more favorably inclined toward Israel. Such a move could have a chilling effect on Israeli-Irish trade, which in 2018 stood at almost $1.3 billion, with Ireland enjoying a nearly $1.1b. trade surplus.
In 2017, some $1.7 million worth of goods from beyond the Green Line were exported to Ireland, just a small amount of the $68m. Israel exported to the country that year.

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In addition to his scheduled meetings with Netanyahu and Katz, Coveney is also scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah, and to travel to the Gaza Strip to survey a joint French-Irish water project there.
In a clear indication of how high the Israeli-Palestinian issue is on Coveney’s agenda, as well as the high profile the issue has with the Irish public, this will be Coveney’s fourth visit here since taking office in November 2017.


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