People Before Profit Councillor Adrienne Wallace has called on local TDs, Jenifer Murnane, John McGuinness, John Paul Phelan and Malcom Noonan to enact the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) before the next General Election. This comes after Micháel Martin recently said the bill will not be passed before the general election. The Government has long claimed that the legislation would breach EU law but Cllr Wallace has hit back saying that the Government were happy to fight legal battles for corporations like Apple but not for Palestine. She added “the government has had since 2018 to enact this legislation, and dithered, now they are choosing to use the General Election as a way to avoid delivering any meaningful action.”
Cllr Wallace commended the mass movements and regular vigils in Carlow and Kilkenny in solidarity with the Palestinian people, she added “Across both counties there is a dedicated presence on the streets to keep the pressure on local politicians to take direct action against Israel and their genocidal agenda. It is time that our local TDs paid heed to those in our communities calling for this bill to be passed urgently. Israel has faced no sanctions and there has been no attempt to isolate them despite the horrific acts they are committing against Palestine. The Palestinian people cannot wait a second longer, each day they face new atrocities, we need direct action now.”
Cllr Wallace added “Micheál Martin is hiding behind legal smokescreens by saying there could be legal challenges at an EU level. The Government had no problem spending millions of public monies to defend Apple from paying €14Billion in back taxes to Ireland. They don’t seem to mind taking legal cases in support of corporations so are we really expected to believe they can’t do the same for Palestine? Especially when the International Court of Justice has recently released a slew of rulings finding Israel responsible for racial segregation and apartheid against the Palestinians, and laid out a long list of abuses and violations of international law by Israeli authorities. It also found that Israel’s occupation is illegal. The OTB should be passed immediately and I hope local TDs support me in this call, I have written to them all and am awaiting a response.”
