Ireland’s government on Tuesday backed a parliamentary motion condemning Israel’s “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land.
The use of the phrase is said to be the first by a European government in relation to Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem.
Ireland's government says it supports a motion to condemn Israel's "de facto annexation" of Palestinian land — which would make it the 1st EU state to do so.
Israel has 250 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and has confiscated over 1/3 of Palestinian land there. pic.twitter.com/vx4QJPSuN0
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 26, 2021
“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,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney 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 added.
This is significant & going a bit under the radar – Dáil looks set to pass motion which, by my reading, would make Ireland first EU MS to formally state that Israeli annexation of the West Bank is not postponed, but happening in practice. Key line: https://t.co/K8zmdSHy67 pic.twitter.com/B3KKoz9b1W
— Conor O'Neill (@conoraon) May 25, 2021
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967 and expanded settlements in the area, in violation of international law. Most countries do not recognize Israel’s claim over the area, which is widely seen as an obstacle to peace.
Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)
