The Irish parliament passes a motion declaring that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

ISTANBUL

Irish lawmakers on Thursday approved a non-binding motion stating that “genocide is being committed before our eyes by Israel in Gaza,” according to media reports.

The country’s deputy prime minister, tanaiste, also announced that Dublin plans to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by the end of the year, the London-based PA news agency.

Michael Martin also highlighted the country’s commitment to a strict interpretation of the Genocide Convention, as well as the “detailed and rigorous legal analysis” the government conducted in its decision to intervene in the case.

Ireland has repeatedly stated that it would file a declaration of intervention with the International Court of Justice as soon as South Africa filed its brief in the case, which it did last Monday.

“Ireland is a strong supporter of the court’s work and is deeply committed to international law and accountability,” Martin said.

The motion urged the government to impose trade, travel and diplomatic sanctions on Israel, with parliamentary debate centering around the failure to pass a previous bill that would have imposed trade restrictions during the current legislature imposed on Israeli settlements in Palestine.

Following an opinion from the UN Supreme Court in July that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is contrary to international law and must end, the Irish government has sought legal advice on the bill.

Martin stated that the International Court of Justice opinion has changed the legal context of the bill, but said the EU has exclusive competence to take legal action on trade matters relating to its member states, including Ireland.

“The government’s analysis is that substantial changes will be needed to most, if not all, of the provisions of the bill to try to bring it into line with EU law and our own constitution, while allowing imports from the occupied territories be banned,” he added.

The motion also urged the government to immediately suspend all military trade with Israel, halt dual-use licenses to Israel and ban the use of Irish airspace and airports for arms transfers to Israel.

Martin stated that there were no military exports from Ireland to Israel, and emphasized that the Irish government regulates the export of dual-use items in accordance with international guidelines.

The Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Contact us for subscription options.