LAST UPDATE | 29 Aug

IRELAND WILL SUPPORT a recommendation from the EU’s Foreign Affairs Commissioner to impose further EU sanctions on Israel, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said.

Martin later said that, given the recent International Court of Justice ruling that settlements in the West Bank breached international law, Israeli companies will also no longer be awarded Irish defence or military contracts.

Today’s mention of sanctions will seek to further target and limit those illegal settlements and, according to Martin, include individual penalties on Ministers within the Israeli cabinet who support them.

The informal meeting took place today between European foreign affairs ministers and the EU’s top foreign diplomat, and chair of the meeting, Josep Borrell, did recommend to member states that the EU should consider imposing more sanctions on Israel.

The extent of these sanctions are still yet to be outlined in public and, as today’s meeting was an informal discussion, no concrete decision has been agreed or put in place by ministers.

However, it is the first time that a member of the European Commission has supported the idea of further sanctions on Israel by the EU – which already has imposed some moderate penalties on the country over illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Speaking in Brussels today before the meeting Martin said that Ireland would be supporting the sanctions when they are formally tabled at the next meeting of the ministers in September.

He added that the decision comes as the conflict in Gaza has shifted into a “war on the population” of the region.

The Tánaiste said: “The war has levelled Gaza [and] all aspects of civilian infrastructure from schools to hospitals to waste management treatment facilities with dire consequences for the population.

“It’s a war on the population, there’s no point in trying to fudge this. It’s very, very clear. The displacement – on numerous occasions – of the two million inhabitants of Gaza really is inhumane and cannot be condoned at this stage.”

Yesterday, Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz - who it is believed that the sanctions would target - said that the Israeli Government had been “working tirelessly with our European allies to prevent anti-Israel decisions” at today’s meeting.

Martin this afternoon told RTÉ News At One that Ireland would no longer be procuring weapons from Israel and that he has instructed his officials that Israeli companies should no longer be awarded Irish military and defence contracts.

Asked to explain how Ireland would review its relationship with Israel, Martin told the programme: “It’s not all aspects of trade but certainly there’s been speculation of procurement of military [contracts].

“That certainly will not happen. We will not be procuring military equipment or defence equipment or contracts with Israel, I believe.”

He said that the decision had been taken in light of the International Court of Justice’s recent ruling that Israeli settlements in the West Bank breached international law and its opinion on the country’s actions in Gaza.

In recent days, at least 20 people have been killed in the West Bank during raids and bombing campaigns conducted by the Israeli military and security forces.

The Israeli Government has said the operations have been carried out to curb militant activity in the Jenin area, where a Palestinian refugee camp is located as a result of continued displacement of the population in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, UN aid operations were forced to temporarily halt this week due to continued bombardments in the south of the region and ongoing evacuations orders.

The World Food Programme also said yesterday that a “clearly marked” vehicle of theirs was fired upon by the Israeli Defence Forces this week.

Speaking before the meeting today, Borrell condemned Israel’s recent actions in the West Bank and the prevention of UN aid operations from continuing in Gaza, labelling it “completely unacceptable”. 

“The United Nations – which is under extreme pressure from the Israeli Government – are being prevented from carrying out their work,” Borrell said. “I don’t have to tell you about the situation in Gaza – all day, every day, is more terrible than the previous day.”

The High Representative put pressure on the powers in the region to get a ceasefire agreed upon, adding:

“The conversation for a ceasefire has been sliding from one day to another without getting any result and in the meantime the bombing continues and the number of civilian casualties increases.”

The Tánaiste said that Ireland will also be seeking a meeting of the EU-Israeli council to “shed a light” that the human rights promises outlined between the two entities have “not been adhered to”, according to him.

“We have, within our remit, a moral obligation to raise these issues and do everything we can to end this war,” Martin said.