Ireland becomes first EU nation to declare Israel’s ‘de facto annexation’ of Palestine

Ireland’s government on Tuesday supported a parliamentary motion condemning the “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land by Israeli occupation authorities, making it the first European Union nation to use the phrase in relation to Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The motion, tabled by the opposition Sinn Fein party, passed on Wednesday after receiving cross-party support.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, who has represented Ireland on the United Nations Security Council in debates on Israel in recent weeks, supported the motion and condemned what he described as Israel’s “manifestly unequal” treatment of the Palestinian people.

Coveney said on Tuesday that the motion “is a clear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland”.

“The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel’s actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is actually happening on the ground. … It is de facto annexation,” Coveney, of the centre-right Fine Gael party, told parliament.

“This is not something that I, or in my view this house, says lightly. We are the first EU state to do so. But it reflects the huge concern we have about the intent of the actions and of course, their impact,” he said.

After the vote, Sinn Fein’s leader Mary Lou MacDonald said on Twitter that the motion “must mark new assertive, consistent confrontation of Israeli crimes against Palestine”.

Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, said the motion was “great support” for Palestinians as she praised Ireland.

“This motion is giving great support to the issue of the de facto annexation that is happening in Palestine,” she told The Times newspaper.

“It’s happening. Ireland is the first EU country to take such a position.”

John Brady, Sinn Fein’s spokesperson for foreign affairs, hailed the motion as “historic” and said he hoped other countries would follow Ireland’s lead.

“This is the starting point,” Brady said in a video posted on Twitter, adding that the focus should shift to holding Israel accountable for its “illegal actions under international law”.

“There now needs to be consequences … on Israel to ensure that they cannot continue to act with perceived impunity for the human rights abuses on the Palestinian people.”

Most countries and international law consider Israeli settlements as illegal and as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

There are nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers living in 256 illegal settlements and outposts scattered across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

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