Shay Brennan urges both unilateral and EU action on Occupied Territories
Shay Brennan argued that both unilateral measures, such as the Occupied Territories Bill, and multilateral action through the EU and UN are necessary to hold Israel accountable. She described the Occupied Territories Bill as a symbolic but important step and urged the use of every mechanism to stop the ongoing violence.
Main argument
Shay Brennan said effective action requires a combination of domestic and international measures. She stated that unilateral steps like the Occupied Territories Bill must be pursued while simultaneously pressing partners in the EU and at the UN.
Support for the Occupied Territories Bill
Brennan described the Occupied Territories Bill as symbolic but substantive - a step forward for holding Israel accountable. She insisted the bill should be fully implemented and not dismissed simply as a gesture.
EU and UN actions cited
Panelists discussed pressing the EU and looking to Israel's position at the UN General Assembly in September. Brennan and others urged continued review of the Israel-EU trading agreement and use of EU-level measures alongside national steps.
Trade and legal developments in the EU
Speakers noted recent acceptance at EU level that member states may block imports from settlements for public policy reasons. They referenced a letter by nine member states and argued that both national registers and EU action should proceed with urgency.
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MR. FATIN, I'm glad to hear your sister and family are safe, and long may that continue. You talk about real action needed by the Irish Government, and I'm sure you'll acknowledge the work done today by the Irish Government. This is probably a question for yourself initially, but for the wider panel also. It's my only question in the interest of time and brevity. Where do you see the most effective action from the Irish Government? What's the most effective thing we can do? Is it unilateral action, such as the Occupied Territories Bill and similar, or the modern incarnation of that, I should say? Or is it multi-lateral action through our partners in the EU, where we press the EU, which is a much bigger ship, has much more impact, and we press them to seek a solution? I'm sure it may be a combination of both, but I'd be very happy to hear your thoughts, if that's okay with you. MS. I'll leave it to the others to comment. I want both, actually. Both. Because the real action, the Occupied Territories, for example, it is, although they say symbolic, but it is a step forward for holding Israel accountable for their war crimes against my people in Palestine. So it is, it's a, it's a solid action. I need it, must need it to be done. MS. Ms. Crawley, do you want to hear? MS. Yeah. I think what we're witnessing is the most profound abuse of human rights that I think we've ever seen in our generation. We're witnessing a genocide, we're witnessing the most appalling crimes, and I think when you're dealing with, with a situation that is so extreme, so devastating, so horrific, you try every possible action and you work on a multiplicity of levels. So I think while we must try unilateral action and fully implement the bill as initially intended, with its combination of goods and services, I think we should continue to pursue, as the Irish government is doing, further review of the Israel-EU trading agreement at a European level and all other possible measures, including looking to Israel's position at the UN General Assembly when that comes up in September. So I think we operate at a domestic level, at an EU level, at a UN level, and we use every possible mechanism at our disposal to try and stop the horrendous actions that are taking place in full view of the world. MR. I'll just maybe add one line on that, because I think it is, it goes back to the second question from Senator Higgins about the options paper and what the European Union are discussing at the moment, and I think there's a recognition now that there are important initiatives that the European Union can undertake as a union, but also that this development that it has now been accepted and recognised that member states can block imports from settlements at their respective national level for public policy reasons, and the arguments that have been made about that exemption and that permissibility for many years before these houses has been accepted now at European level. I think, you know, we shouldn't underestimate the role that Ireland played in that, and the letter by the nine member states recently, and that the fact that that is now explicitly accepted as a policy option shows that I think there will need to be both registers and both layers of national member states and the European Union proceeding with as much urgency as possible. MR.
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