A final attempt to include services in the Occupied Territories Bill has failed in the Seanad, with the Government’s effort to restrict trade with the illegally occupied territories described as a “tragedy”. The high-profile Bill passed its final stages on Wednesday evening on one of the last sitting days of the parliament before the summer break. It is now expected to be signed into law by President Catherine Connolly within weeks. Two opposition amendments again tried to add services to the Bill but were once again rejected, by 24 votes to 13 and 26 votes to 14 respectively. A similar proposal had also previously failed at committee stage in the Dáil. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, was present in the Seanad during the debate.The proposed legislation, formally entitled the Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026, will prohibit the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, the Government has been harshly criticised for excluding a ban on the trade of services. The Department of Foreign Affair’s own regulatory analysis of the Bill said the Government believed the only “reasonable” reading of international law supports a complete ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee had previously conceded that the Bill would not be compliant with international law. In 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on the Israeli-occupied territories, which said Israel’s continued presence was unlawful and states should avoid any trade relations that maintain its illegal position. Independent Senator Frances Black, who had tabled the failed amendments, said the Government was “knowingly passing legislation [that] will leave us in breach of international legal obligations, by choice.”“And it’s intended to stay like that up until such a point that a full ban is agreed at EU level, which, as we know, may never arrive.” Black first proposed what became known as the Occupied Territories Bill eight years ago. It was originally opposed by the then Fine Gael government. Black said the Government was “consciously letting large companies providing tech, IT, and other services based trade off the hook. And to me, that is a tragedy.”Speaking after her, Independent Senator and former attorney general Michael McDowell said he agreed with “every single word” she said. McDowell said he understood the Attorney General’s advice to the Government was confidential, but he took issue with what he suggested was the “unbalanced view” of the legal adviser to the Government about the realistic threat of legal action if Ireland included a ban on services. He also criticised claims of “retaliation” from the US, saying that the United States was “a different place” to what it was even a year ago. Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews said it was an “understatement” for McEntee to say that some people feel the Bill did not go far enough. He said that excluding services from the Bill “undermines the spirit and purpose of the Government’s effort here”. Andrews said he failed to see “any compelling legal, political, or moral” reason for services to be excluded. “Seventy per cent of the trade with these illegally occupied territories and settlements is in services.”McEntee denied that the Government was “rowing back” on commitments it had made during the 2024 general election, and that it had “always given a commitment that we would progress this legislation for goods”. She said it was important to introduce legislation with a strong legal basis when “you want other countries to follow suit, [when] you want to set a precedent”.