Bill applies only to goods, affecting a handful of West Bank imports such as fruit worth about 200,000 euros a year; PM says expanding it to services neither 'implementable' nor 'viable' Related TopicsIreland's government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli ​settlements in October 2024. The legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians ​who aimed to extend the ban also to services trade, on one side, and ⁠international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other.2 View gallery Ireland Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister of Defense Helen McEntee (Photo: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP)Sources told Reuters last October that the bill was ​set to be limited to goods. Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed that last week and said widening the scope ​to services was neither "implementable" nor "viable."Limiting the bill to goods only will impact just a handful of products imported from the West Bank such as fruit that are worth just 200,000 euros ($234,660) a year, Ireland's Central Statistics Office said.Business groups warned that the wider ​category of services could pull foreign multinational companies into unworkable sanctions."We have consistently advocated for a peaceful solution... ​but it's very clear from the actions taken most recently by the Israeli government, but in particular the continued increase ‌in settler ⁠violence, the escalation in settler violence in the West Bank, the continued violence in Lebanon, that they have no desire to take this particular road," McEntee told reporters.Israel's far-right governing coalition has enabled a rapid expansion of settlements, with some ministers openly advocating for the annexation of the West Bank.2 View gallery Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Dublin (Photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)Settler violence against Palestinians in ​the West Bank has surged ​since the Gaza war ⁠began on October 7, 2023 with the Hamas massacre.McEntee said last week she hoped to pass the law in tandem with Belgium, the Netherlands and possibly Slovenia, which have also committed to ​introducing bans. Spain has already introduced similar curbs, the only European Union member to ​so far ⁠do so.A group of U.S. lawmakers wrote to Martin last year warning that passing the bill would damage U.S.-Irish relations and impact American companies in Ireland.Ireland is particularly sensitive to pressure from the U.S. as mainly U.S.-owned foreign multinationals ⁠are a ​major part of the economy and employ around 11% of Irish ​workers.Comments