Irish parliament denounces Israeli West Bank policies as ‘de facto annexation’
The Irish parliament passed a motion describing Israeli settlements and other policies in the West Bank as “de facto annexation” – one of the strongest terms ever proposed by a European Union nation on the issue.
The motion passed Wednesday by Dail, the lower house of the Irish parliament, condemned the “recent and ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the occupied Palestinian territory”.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the motion expresses Ireland’s concern that Israel’s actions are undermining prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We have to tell the truth,” Coveney tweeted Thursday. “The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel’s actions on settlements, demolitions and expulsions are de facto annexation. ”
Palestinians demonstrate in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 9, 2021, in solidarity with Palestinian families facing Israeli deportation orders in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. (ABBAS MOMANI / AFP)
The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected what it described as Ireland’s “outrageous and baseless” stance on Israeli settlements. He said the parliamentary motion “constitutes a victory for extremist Palestinian factions”.
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Irish lawmakers approved the motion less than a week after Israel and the ruling Hamas terror group in Gaza agreed to an informal ceasefire ending an 11-day war.
The conflict began when Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem, citing unrest on the Temple Mount and the ongoing evictions of several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes and the conflict escalated as Hamas bombarded Israeli communities and towns with rockets and Israel carried out hundreds of retaliatory airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip . Some 250 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including more than 60 minors; Israel claims that around 200 were terrorists. Twelve people were killed in Israel, all but one of the civilians, including a 5-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl.
Israel seized East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six Day War, territories the Palestinians want for a future state. It withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but consolidated its control over the West Bank, which is now home to nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers.
Palestinians view the settlements as a violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace, a position that enjoys broad international support. There have been no substantive peace talks for over a decade, leading Palestinians and many rights groups to describe Israel’s control of the West Bank as de facto annexation.
Israeli Jews regard the West Bank as the historical and biblical heart of the Jewish people. Some believe it should be handed over to the Palestinians as part of a future peace deal, but many fear that it will become, like Gaza before it, a haven and launching pad for terrorist activity against Israel.
The Netanyahu government’s plans last year to formally annex up to a third of the West Bank were put on hold under a normalization deal the United States broke with the United Arab Emirates.
The Irish motion, presented by the opposition Sinn Fein party, received support from all parties.
“Illegal land grabs, annexation of Palestinian land and houses have been denounced by the Dail (Parliament) in Dublin,” Sinn Fein chief Mary Lou McDonald said on Twitter. “The motion tabled by @sinnfeinireland and supported by all must mark a new assertive and coherent confrontation of Israeli crimes against Palestine.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
