The International Court of Justice's advisory opinion issued in July 2024 concluded that all states are under an obligation "to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the occupied Palestinian territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence" and "to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories". It could not be clearer. In 1984, some workers in Dunnes Stores refused to handle South African fruit from the apartheid state. It was grassroots action. That then led to our State leading the way in sanctions against South Africa. We did not wait for everybody to fall in line. We did not wait for complete consensus internationally. It started with ordinary people, ordinary workers and trade unionists taking a stand. That is the moral thing to do. We did that because we had independent foreign policy. That was the mindset. What has happened with our Government is an absolutely minimalist approach all the way even when we had genocide broadcast through our televisions and social media every single day and even when 81% of the properties, schools, homes, buildings, churches and mosques were destroyed. Imagine if 81% of the buildings in Dublin were damaged and most of them destroyed. The population of this city is very similar to the population of Gaza. Even in the face of that level of destruction, devastation and loss of lives, our response is absolutely minimalist even with the ICJ's decision giving us full clearance. We will be judged very harshly by future generations. They will compare it with how we dealt with South Africa's apartheid regime but this, and the South Africans will say this, is much worse. This is a scale that is unprecedented in relation to what has happened there in terms of the level of destruction and devastation. There is no honour for the State in this legislation that the Government has brought forward. I am sorry to say it. It is minimalist and absolutely not good enough.

Sentiment score: -0.20