The Government’s proposed legislation to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land could be ready before the summer, the Tánaiste has said.
Simon Harris said the Government is working on its own version of the 2018 Occupied Territories Bill, which seeks to prohibit goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, reports Breaking News.
The Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill has been listed as a “priority publication” in the Government’s spring legislative programme.
Pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed law was completed last July, reports Breaking News.
“It could well be (completed this side of the summer),” Mr Harris told reporters while speaking in Paris.
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He said Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee had been progressing the work on the legislation and had submitted a number of questions to attorney general Rossa Fanning, reports Breaking News.
“In fairness to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she’s done a lot of work on this,” Mr Harris said.
“She has received very detailed advice from the attorney general, she’s gone back with further questions and queries working her way through that,” he added, reports Breaking News.
Concerns have been raised that the Government’s planned legislation may only apply to goods and not services linked to illegal Israeli settlements.
The Government has previously said that including services would present greater legal challenges and has sought further advice from Mr Fanning on the issue, reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris said a precise timeline for the next stage of the Bill’s progress has not yet been decided.
He added: “I would make the point, obviously, that the priority – quite rightly – for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Government in recent days has been on consular assistance, getting our citizens home, responding to the situation in the Gulf. But the Government’s commitment in relation to the Occupied Territories Bill remains,” reports Breaking News.
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