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The D\u00e1il is to vote on a motion later that calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland and to impose sanctions against Israel.<\/p>\nThe D\u00e1il is to vote on a motion later that calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland and to impose sanctions against Israel.<\/p>\n
The People Before Profit amendment to Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s motion will be debated on Wednesday evening.<\/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 comes after the Government backed a 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