The Joint Arab List endorsed a pending Irish bill that would make the trade of Israeli products made in Judea and Samaria illegal, calling for further BDS action against the Jewish state.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israeli-Arab lawmakers welcomed the reintroduction of a bill in Ireland that would outlaw the import and sale of Israeli goods made in Judea and Samaria.
Ireland’s parliament, the Seanad, is poised to pass on Wednesday the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, which would make it a violation of Irish criminal law to purchase goods and services from Israeli companies based in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights. It would punish violators with up to five years in prison.
This law would thus make the purchase of souvenirs in Israel a criminal act, punishable by a maximum of five years in jail and a $310,000 fine.
“This is a welcome and legally correct step,” the Joint Arab List party said in a press statement before the vote.
Israeli-Arab lawmakers said that they hoped passage of the bill will “mark the beginning of a new stage in which Israel starts to pay an international political, economic and moral price for its actions.”
Joint Arab List: Israel is ‘a rogue state’
In a seemingly anti-Semitic reference, they stated that they also hoped this was “a new stage in treating the Zionist lobby as a danger to the values that Europe claims to represent.”
“It is time for the world to come to its senses and understand that this is a rogue state,” the Joint Arab List stated, adding that Israel “must understand that it deserves all the sanctions, boycotts, and freezing of relations, as punishment for its violent policy and the daily oppression of the Palestinian people.”
The bill was introduced in January, but further discussion was postponed until July at the request of Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.
A government spokesman stated that the bill presented legal issues regarding trade in the European Union (EU) and that the government was “wary such a move would undermine Ireland’s position in the Middle East.”
Independent senator Frances Black, who introduced the bill, previously signed a letter calling for a boycott of all Israeli products and services.
Even if it passes, the bill would still have to clear several additional hurdles before becoming law.
‘Immoral’ move that encourages terrorism’
Israel condemned the bill as an “immoral” move that encourages terrorism.
“The Embassy of Israel is concerned by bills that further the divisions between Israel and the Palestinians. Legislation, which promotes a boycott of any kind, should be rejected as it does nothing to achieve peace but rather empowers the Hamas terrorists as well as those Palestinians who refuse to come to the negotiating table,” the Israeli mission in Dublin said in a statement last Wednesday.
“Closing doors will not in any way facilitate Ireland’s role and influence. There are direct parties to the conflict. Boycotting one of them will not do any good and is immoral.”