There is no legal or moral excuse for what this Government has done to the occupied territories Bill. For eight long years, it stalled and delayed. Now, it has cynically gutted the legislation by excluding services. Almost 70% of our trade with the occupied territories is in services. If we exclude services, this Bill will fall far short of its potential and what is necessary, appropriate and right. The Government claims legal impediments. That is a hallow argument. It is no argument at all. The International Court of Justice makes no distinction between goods and services. Spain has led the way. It has banned the advertising of services from illegal settlements. If I cannot advertise an AirBnB property, then I cannot sell it. The Government should not pretend that banning advertising amounts to nought. It is effectively a ban on the sale and supply of services. The Spanish Parliament voted decisively to do this. If Spain can do it, Ireland can do it. That, of course, is the whole point. It is not the case that the Government cannot include services, it does not want to. Instead, it wants to blunt the impact of this law. How do we know if it could include services if it wanted to? It is because they already are. The Government already applies sanctions on services in Russian occupied Ukraine. It knows how to do it. It is simply refusing to apply the same standard to the rogue state of Israel. This is a political decision - plain and simple. It is incomprehensible. The Government must work with the Opposition to pass an occupied territories Bill that includes goods and services. No more excuses. No more double standards. Apply international law and act now.

Sentiment score: -0.12