‘Substantial shift’ among EU states on Israel, says Irish Foreign Affairs Minister

There has been a “substantial shift” in the EU on taking action against Israel , Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said.

Helen McEntee said while EU members rejected a proposal from Ireland, Spain and Slovenia to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement over human rights breaches, there had been a shift.

She has condemned Israel’s introduction of the death penalty targeting Palestinians and the “unprecedented and unacceptable” escalation of violence in the West Bank.

She said the three countries had called for a suspension of the agreement at a meeting on Tuesday of EU foreign affairs ministers as a result, but also said that if Ireland acted in unison with the EU it would be more effective.

Ms McEntee said on Wednesday: “What’s really important for me, though, and I think the approach from Government has always been to make sure that whatever we do that a) it’s going to have a positive impact on the ground, that it’s going to help people be in Gaza, in Palestine, or the Middle East, that when we work in unison.

“We’ve seen in the past, whether it’s recognising Palestine, whether it’s other engagements with other countries, where we’ve worked together we’ve actually made a difference.”
Ms McEntee, along with her Spanish and Slovenian counterparts, met before the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Tuesday and wrote asking for a discussion on suspending or the partial suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement.

“(We asked that) we would at least focus on partial suspension on particular trade, and that we would re-engage on the issues with the sanctions, which are already on the table, particularly sanctions for those that are involved in violent settler extreme actions within the West Bank,” she said.

“While there wasn’t unanimity yesterday, what’s clear to me, I have to say, this is the first Council meeting where I felt there was a substantial shift, where I felt that there was a move from member states in wanting to do more.

“What I’ll be doing now, not just with my Slovenian and my Spanish colleagues, but working with a number of other colleagues, is trying to make sure that we make further progress.”
Asked about a Government Bill that would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, Ms McEntee said: “We are making progress.”
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Independent Senator Frances Black said the minister had gone to the Attorney General several times for advice, and Ms Black claimed the Government is using “delay tactics” on the Bill.

Ms McEntee said: “Any piece of legislation that I’ve worked on has various different engagements with the Attorney General and it’s quite often that you’d be back and forth multiple times.

“I’ve received the second round of advice from the Attorney General, and I’ll be responding to that soon.

“The legislation itself, as I said, we are making progress.

It is moving.

“I’ve received the advice from the Attorney General, but I think it is really important that before we make any types of changes, be it legislative or otherwise, that we do so with other member states, so the bilateral engagements that I had yesterday with other colleagues, we discussed this very issue and how we would move together on it.”