Sir, – Binyamin Netanyahu’s contemptuous reaction to the ruling by the International Court of Justice on Israel’s illegal settlements and occupation of Palestinian land could not have been more direct.
According to Mr Netanyahu, “the legality of settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be contested” and “the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land”, making plain that annexation is indeed the long-term aim of his government and that international law will not be respected (“Damning indictment likely to weaken support for Israel”, World, Analysis, July 20th).
In this context – and with the ongoing massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza – it is increasingly difficult to understand why the Irish Government has not yet enacted the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban goods and services produced in Israeli-occupied territories.
It would be much better if sanctions were collectively imposed by the EU, but that appears unlikely in the short term, so unilateral action by Ireland would be entirely understandable. – Yours, etc,
‘The horror of being raped by him when I was five’: Multiple child abuse allegations made against former bishop Eamonn Casey
Meet Team Ireland - Hockey
The Map of Argentina review: Sexual desire and forbidden passion in a drama that clutches you to its chest
Looking East: Exploring 75 years of Ireland-India ties
FINTAN LANE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – One way or another, Friday’s advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will go down as a watershed moment (“International Court of Justice finds Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories in breach of law”, World, July 19th). Either it will be seen as a major turning point on the road to Palestinian freedom and self-determination, or as the final nail in the coffin of the rules-based international order and the postwar system of international law. It is up to us to decide which one it will be.
Not only did the ICJ, the world’s highest legal authority, declare the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands illegal, enumerating a long list of ongoing Israeli crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including settlement, annexation, racial discrimination and forcible displacement. But it also decreed that states must not materially contribute to the ongoing criminal occupation and that they must not recognise the illegal situation that arises from it.
This means at the very least that Ireland must enact the Occupied Territories Bill and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill, as well as ending all military or dual-use trade with Israel and preventing US military aircraft from transporting weapons through Shannon Airport. But that is only the beginning.
As was done with South Africa during apartheid, Israel must be isolated on the world stage until it withdraws its military and evacuates its settlers from Palestinian lands occupied since 1967. As such, Ireland must push for the EU to implement full trade sanctions on Israel and for the UN to suspend its membership, as was done with apartheid South Africa.
Now is the time to act. And in light of the ICJ’s findings, complacency can only be interpreted as complicity. – Yours, etc,
ROBERT MILLER,
Dublin 13.