Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages Dail Éireann — 2026-07-07 ============================================================ Ruth Coppinger (PBP), Dublin West A few things have come up in the news today to put this in context. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a renowned surgeon who heroically stayed with the people while they were being genocided by Israel is, unfortunately, probably near death. The man is unrecognisable and there has been an international campaign to have him released, which has unfortunately failed. He said, "They brought me here to kill me" and that he was not going to get out of there. The other news was a Palestinian goalkeeper who was also killed. Then we see the farce taking place over the past few days in the US with the World Cup where the President of the host nation can intervene and get a red card suspended. He did not know what a red card was beforehand, apparently. He knows a lot about sport but not what a red card is and had to find out. That s absolutely disgraceful. My point is that we have a completely bankrupt and corrupt FIFA that bowed to that pressure and went along with it. Thankfully, the Belgians triumphed, so that was something. All of this is happening. I heard today that the US President may come over for the Irish Open, which coincidently was awarded to his golf course. I am sure there is nothing untoward there. He is going to come over and may be invited to address the Dáil, as other past Presidents have. Sure we might as well let him. Let us reconvene the Dáil early, in fact, for this man who is bringing in fascistic policies. There is no other way to describe what he stands for. He is fomenting hate, targeting minorities, stoking up racism, transphobia and misogyny, and even intervening in a competition that people are meant to enjoy while they watch. This Government made a promise to the people that it would bring in an occupied territories Bill. It was a key point and debate in the election. I remember canvassing in local elections and the general election, and it was brought up regularly on doorsteps. Here we are now with an absolute farce of a Bill, which will do very little to help the people of Palestine. It is being done to save face. We know it is because of the fear this Government has of the American regime in regard to in any way, shape or form saying anything. It even said the Ireland-Israel game must go ahead. This was something the Government could have taken a stand on. Even now, it could say to the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, that it would back it up fully in this, on a moral principle. I watched a documentary last night in which Bertie Ahern was waxing lyrical about Saipan. There is an idea that Governments do not intervene on sporting occasions. To get back to the Bill, the academics, Dr. Patrick Bresnihan and Dr. Patrick Brodie, have pointed out that this Bill is being reduced in order to save face for companies like Airbnb, insurance brokers and so on. I had a look around on what is available on the Airbnb and Booking.com websites in relation to Israel. The Guardian did a very good exposé of how those two companies are helping Israelis make money off stolen Palestinian land. For example, there is an advertisement for a stunning villa with a private swimming pool and views from the master bedroom of the Judaean Mountains. This is in a settlement on land that was seized from Palestinians and it will continue to be advertised in this country and others. Only a handful of Palestinians are allowed in that area - the ones who work there. There are 760 rooms available in hotels, apartments and Airbnb properties on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some 2,000 people can stay there during August. It shows inhumanity and barbarity to profiteer from and advertise that sort of luxury on the backs and the blood and bones of Palestinians in that area. I am sure the Minister of State agrees that is reprehensible, yet it will continue to be allowed. We have all spoken umpteen times on this issue, and the Government has never explained how Spain and Slovenia could do it and Ireland cannot. It has never been explained how Spain and Slovenia can ban goods and services. These are two countries the Minister of State was working with in Europe to get pan-European unified action. Yet, those two countries, two of the Government's chums, were able to pass this and this Government is not. There is one simple reason. Spain, as a major economy, is not beholden to the US, in the same way that this Government is. Successive Governments, not just the Minister of State's, have created an economic policy that is so heavily reliant on foreign direct investment, FDI, that absolutely nothing can be done in any way, shape or form. Let us have Trump in here and bring the Dáil back because he seems to be running the show in this country. We may as well have him in here and listen to his insane ramblings because this whole Bill has been reduced. It is a breach with the Irish people, which is being done because of Trump and US capitalism. Take a bow there. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-07/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-07