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Ireland has become the first EU member state to declare the building of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories as de facto annexation.<\/p>\nIreland has become the first EU member state to declare the building of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories as de facto annexation.<\/p>\n
A D\u00e1il motion, tabled by Sinn F\u00e9in, was passed on Wednesday night after it received cross-party support.<\/p>\n
It condemns the \u201crecent and ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the occupied Palestinian territory\u201d, and described the annexation of Palestinian territory as a violation of international law.<\/p>\n
In a tweet after the vote, Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Loy McDonald said: \u201cIllegal land grabs, annexation of Palestinian land & homes has been called out by D\u00e1il in Dublin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe motion tabled by @sinnfeinireland & supported by all must mark new assertive, consistent confrontation of Israeli crimes against Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in Foreign Affairs spokesman John Brady described the vote as a \u201chistoric moment\u201d.<\/p>\n
He tweeted: \u201cTonight\u2019s passing of the @sinnfeinireland motion on the illegal annexation of Palestinian lands by Israel, is a historic moment, a victory for justice & a recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cFocus now needs to be on the consequences for Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
An amendment tabled by People Before Profit, calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland and to impose sanctions against Israel, was defeated.<\/p>\n
The People Before Profit amendment to Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s motion was defeated by a vote of 46 in favor and 87 against.<\/p>\n
The amendment claimed Israel was guilty of war crimes, ethnic cleansing and apartheid, and that as a result the Israeli ambassador and embassy staff should be expelled.<\/p>\n
People Before Profit described it as a \u201chistoric moment\u201d as it will be the first time the D\u00e1il has voted on enforcing sanctions against Israel.<\/p>\n
It came after the Government agreed to back the motion condemning Israel\u2019s de facto annexation of Palestinian land.<\/p>\n
It is the first country in the EU to recognize Israel\u2019s illegal settlements as a de facto annexation.<\/p>\n
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the motion was a \u201cclear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Coveney said on Tuesday the Government needed to be \u201chonest about what is happening on the ground\u201d, adding that it is a \u201cde facto annexation\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added it was not said lightly.<\/p>\n
Israel has fired hundreds of air strikes against targets in Gaza, while Hamas has returned more than 4,000 rockets towards Israel, with more than 250 people killed in total.<\/p>\n
A ceasefire on Friday ended 11 days of fighting in the Gaza Strip, considered the worst violence in the region since 2014.<\/p>\n
Dublin TD Richard Boy Barrett, one of the proposers of the amendment, said: \u201cIt is now high time that the D\u00e1il and the Irish government move from words of sympathy and support for the people of Palestine to effective action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chronic repression, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and apartheid system that has brutalized the Palestinian people has to be treated like the South African apartheid regime was treated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere must be zero tolerance for Israel\u2019s ongoing and systematic violation of basic human rights for Palestinians, just as there was for Apartheid South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a historic opportunity for us here in Ireland, who have previously experienced oppression from an occupying power, to lead the international community in taking effective action against the Israeli regime who are inflicting untold misery and brutality on the people of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n