The Occupied Territories Bill: Eight years of inaction

The Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) has been crawling through the houses of the Oireachtas for nearly eight years.

It's essentially taken three consecutive Governments over 2,800 days to decide if Ireland should ban trade with Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

At a glance that seems like a long time to make a decision on a minor portion of our international trade.

In the past five years Ireland has only imported a total of €685,000 worth of goods from the Occupied Territories, the majority of which is fruit and vegetables, according to the CSO.

In January 2018, Independent Senator Francis Black, tabled the bill with the support of other Senators, human rights organisations, trade unions, academics and campaigners across the country.

The Bill passed through the Seanad and was then brought to the Dáil by Fianna Fáil TD, Niall Collins and supported by now senior ministers Jim O'Callaghan, Darragh O'Brien and James Browne.

During that Dáil sitting in which the general principles of the bill were debated, Jim O'Callaghan, warned that, minority leaders at the time, Fine Gael, would use a money message veto to stall the bills progression, besides it passing a Dáil vote 78 - 45.

The money message provision, relates to Article 17.2 of the Constitution, which essentially gives the Government a veto over any bill which may cost the state money.

Then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney enacted this saying Ireland could be exposed to huge fines from the EU if the bill was passed. This effectively left the OTB in limbo from 2019 to 2024.

Conversation reignited last year when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land is unlawful and that states must not assist the settlement enterprise.

The Government sought advice from the Attorney General over the new development and the bill made progress for the first time in five years.

However the bill stalled again over the issue of including services as well as goods. The Government kicked to touch saying it would need consultation over the inclusion of services and whether it would be in line with EU law.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, made up of government and opposition TDs and senators, recently concluded their scrutiny of the bill, recommending that the bill should be passed with both goods and services included.

In their findings they said the majority of legal advice received by the committee "held a view that a legal pathway existed to allow Ireland prohibit the import of goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

Interestingly it's not the first time a Government TD has said EU law wouldn't affect the passing of this bill.

Back in January 2019, when Fianna Fáil originally brought the bill to the Dáil, Jim O'Callaghan pushed the government of the day to pass the OTB as it stood and to worry about aligning with EU laws after the fact.

"It was suggested that this legislation could impose significant and recurring damages on the State because it might involve fines from the European Union or the European Commission, or it may cost money because it creates new offences."

"Anyone who knows the workings of the European Commission will know that Ireland will be given a warning if it brings the matter before a court, and that after a court decision has been made, we will be given the necessary time to ensure that the law is compatible with European Union law … We could bring in this change readily without any fine being imposed upon us."

O'Callaghan, who is a barrister and the person Michéal Martin has deemed most suitable to head Ireland's Justice Department, in 2019 said that there was scope to pass the OTB without facing immediate sanctions from the Bloc.

Couple that with the ICJ advisory opinion in 2024 which says States should "abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory."

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the government would have used the momentum created by the ICJ and passed the bill to challenge the existing EU boundaries on trade sovereignty, in an attempt to support Palestinians.

Other countries have capitalised on the ICJ's advice, with Spain and Slovenia this year successfully passing legislation which bans trade with the occupied territories.

It took them less than a year, to introduce tangible policy that not only supports Palestine but directly targets Israeli Settlements for their illegal activities. The Netherlands and Belgium are also looking at introducing similar measures.

In January, exactly eight years since the bill was introduced, our Government will have been hemming and hawing over the OTB for a total of 2,922 days.

And although the Government didn't vote down a motion calling for the bill to be passed before Christmas, don't be surprised if you see the Occupied Territories Bill kicked to touch for a little longer.

The Government is being pressured by the Israeli lobby and their intense efforts seem to be working.

Last year The Ditch reported that former US ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin warned of the unforeseen circumstances Ireland and nearly 1,000 US multinational corporations that separate here would have if the Occupied territories Bill was passed.

Taoiseach Michéal Martin then went on to delay the passing of the bill yet again, citing that amendments would need to be made to bring it in line with EU law.

It came up on his St Patrick's day White House trip, when Martin met with Jewish Leaders in Washington.

A statement from the American Jewish Committee after a meeting with Michéal Martin said the Taoiseach had told them that the bill was "no longer on the legislative calendar."

A Government spokesperson said Michéal Martin “categorically” did not tell American Jewish groups that the OTB had been dropped.

Warnings were reissued in October, when 23 US members of Congress, signed a letter to Michéal Martin cautioning of the possible damage the bill would cause to Irish-US relations.

They said the OTB "threatens to inflict real harm on American companies operating in Ireland. If enacted, it would put US firms in direct conflict with federal and state-level antiboycott laws in the US, forcing them into an impossible legal position and jeopardising their ability to do business in Ireland."

"Therefore, were it to pass this Bill, Ireland would risk causing significant damage to its own economic credibility and partnerships with American commerce."

The majority of US States have passed anti-BDS laws, which protect Israel and their illegal settlements by targeting corporations which adhere to any laws which ban trade with Israel.

In theory a corporation which follows Ireland's OTB and ceases trade with Israel through an Irish subsidiary, could face massive fines and even criminal convictions in the US.

The government would reject that their policy making is being dictated by Israeli lobbyists and instead continuously return to the line that the OTB 'needs to be in line with EU law.'

Something that one of their own senior ministers has previously said is a moot point.