Ireland has become the first EU country to declare that the Israeli settlement in Palestinian

territory amounts to illegal annexation.

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Ireland has become the first EU country to declare that the Israeli settlement in Palestinian territory amounts to illegal annexation, after a Dáil motion received cross-party support. Taoiseach Micheál Martin told his Fianna Fáil colleagues the widespread support for the motion on the de facto annexation by Israel shows the strong stance taken by the Government and the Dáil on what is a very important issue. The motion also condemns the displacement of the protected Palestinian population and states that the expansion of Israeli settlements over decades represents a flagrant violation of international law.

However, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said: "Israel outright rejects Ireland's outrageous and baseless position regarding Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. "This position reflects a blatantly one-sided and simplistic policy and follows the unacceptable anti-Israel statements that were heard in Ireland at a time when the citizens of Israel were being subject to terror attacks by the more than 4,000 rockets that were launched from the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terrorist organization. "The motion that was adopted in the Irish parliament constitutes a victory for extremist Palestinian factions. This motion distances Ireland from its ambition to contribute and play a constructive role in the Israeli-Palestinian context."

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Sadaka, Trócaire, Christian Aid Ireland and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) have welcomed the passing of the Dáil motion.
The organisations said they "hope and expect" other parliaments will now follow Ireland’s lead in this condemnation and in calling Israel to account. Caoimhe de Barra, Trócaire CEO said: “This motion is historic, as Ireland is the first EU country to call out Israel’s settlement activity for what it is - the annexation of Palestinian land. "Given the EU remains divided in its willingness to censure Israel’s human rights violations, unilateral action like this is essential. We urge Ireland now to go further and become the first EU country to ban trade with those settlements by enacting the Occupied Territories Bill," she said.

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In a significant move, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the scale, pace and nature of Israel's actions amount to "de facto annexation". He told the Dáil that a return to "business as usual" and the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory cannot be accepted. "That is simply no longer an option in my view. We cannot return to the flouting of international law, with the expansion of illegal settlements into occupied Palestinian territory. We cannot return to forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank," said Mr Coveney.