Irish minister says curbed trade with illegal settlements to be limited to goods
12/12/2025 1:40:00 PM
Ireland’s planned curbs on trade with illegal Israeli settlements will be limited strictly to goods.
“It’s an extremely limited measure, which would prohibit imports of goods from illegally occupied territories,” Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s minister of state for European affairs and defence, told the Reuters news agency.
“Similar measures have already been brought in in a number of European countries,” he added.
Ireland has been preparing a law to curb trade with settlements in the occupied West Bank. But domestically, Dublin has been facing pressure to broaden the ban from goods to services, while the US and Israel want it scrapped entirely.
While the Irish government has signalled that the bill is imminent, it has yet to publicly announce how far it will go.
Byrne also declined to say when it would be sent to parliament for approval.
“It’s an extremely limited measure, which would prohibit imports of goods from illegally occupied territories,” Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s minister of state for European affairs and defence, told the Reuters news agency.
“Similar measures have already been brought in in a number of European countries,” he added.
Ireland has been preparing a law to curb trade with settlements in the occupied West Bank. But domestically, Dublin has been facing pressure to broaden the ban from goods to services, while the US and Israel want it scrapped entirely.
While the Irish government has signalled that the bill is imminent, it has yet to publicly announce how far it will go.
Byrne also declined to say when it would be sent to parliament for approval.