Irish parties consider Occupied Territories Bill in gov't coalition talks

Fine Gael, a centrist political party and coalition partner of Fianna Fail under a rotational agreement, is allegedly opposed to the bill.

THE WEST BANK town of Efrat, with Bethlehem in the background. (photo credit: REUTERS)
THE WEST BANK town of Efrat, with Bethlehem in the background.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Fianna Fáil, a center-right political party in Ireland, and the center-left Green Party are being urged by political figures in Ireland to include the Occupied Territories Bill in its agenda, which would ban and criminalize trade and economic support of Israeli West Bank settlements, according to a Irish Examiner report. 
Meanwhile, the report noted that Fine Gael, a centrist political party and coalition partner of Fianna Fáil under a rotational agreement, is opposed to the bill, saying such bans need to be implemented at the level of the European Union. 
Betty Purcell, a representative Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, has suggested that public support for the bill may push the centrist party to support the Occupied Territories Bill in its current form.
"If the EU wishes to increase pressure, then that could be a 'let-out' for Fine Gael, that they may be prepared to allow progress on the bill, but up to now we have not seen any sign of that," Purcell said.
"Their policy seems to be about Europe, and we need to depend on the Irish population, and hopefully principled people within Fianna Fáil and The Greens," she added.
The Occupied Territories Bill was originally passed in the Seanad (Irish Senate) in July of 2018 by 25 votes to 20, after getting support from Independent, Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and Labour party senators. 
Renewed discussions of the Occupied Territories Bill comes following the 2020 Irish general election in February that saw a surge in support for the left-wing Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, raising concerns in Israel due to the party's close historical support of the Palestinian positions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the former military wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). 
Nevertheless, Sinn Fein, which contests elections in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is not currently partaking in coalition discussions.