There is a fundamental flaw at the heart of this Bill. That is the exclusion of services. It is no more complicated than that. I certainly wish to pay tribute to Senator Black who showed leadership when successive Governments refused to act. Senator Black's occupied territories Bill set out a clear and principled position. Before the 2024 general election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promised the Irish people that the occupied territories Bill would be enacted. Instead, what we have before us is a watered-down version that excludes services. I do not know how the Minister can stand over that when 70% of trade between Ireland and the occupied territories is in services. If trading in goods from illegal settlements is wrong, why is the provision of services to those same settlements acceptable? If trade helps to sustain illegal Israeli entities in the occupied territories, why does it matter whether that activity is a good or service? It makes zero sense and compromises all credibility. The Government cannot acknowledge the illegality of the settlements on one hand and then carve out exemptions that allow trade with those settlements on the other hand. The Government says that it wants to ensure that Ireland is not complicit in the occupation of Palestinian land. If that is true, then the services must be included. We are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our time - a genocide happening in real time before our very eyes on our phones and televisions in plain sight. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered. Entire families have been wiped out. Homes, hospitals, schools and communities have been reduced to rubble. How many more Palestinian lives must be lost before the Government is prepared to include the services in this legislation? It has to scrap this hallow Bill, pass the original occupied territories Bill, including goods and services, and ensure that Ireland plays no part directly or indirectly in supporting Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and their genocide.

Sentiment score: 0.15