{"id":180056,"date":"2018-12-06T04:59:49","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T04:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=180056"},"modified":"2018-12-09T07:12:11","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T07:12:11","slug":"us-tries-to-stop-ireland-banning-imports-from-israels-settlements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=180056","title":{"rendered":"US tries to stop Ireland banning imports from Israel\u2019s settlements"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ciaran Tieney \u2013 Electronic Intifada Dec 4, 2018<\/h1>\n
\"Veteran<\/a>

Veteran US lawmaker Peter King has lobbied against an Irish attempt to ban goods from Israel\u2019s settlements in the occupied West Bank. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

A prominent US politician has lobbied Irish lawmakers to reject a proposed ban on imports from Israel\u2019s illegal settlements.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peter King, a member of Congress for New York, is among those who have opposed a bill being debated in Dublin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the bill \u2013 aimed at forbidding goods from Israel\u2019s settlements in the occupied West Bank \u2013 seeks to uphold international law, King has depicted it as subversive.<\/span><\/p>\n

King has tried to convince Fianna F\u00e1il, one of Ireland\u2019s largest parties, to withdraw its support for the proposed ban.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is critical that countries and leaders interested in facilitating a lasting peace amongst Israelis and Palestinians not serve to empower the most radical, who have no interest in seeking peace,\u201d King stated in an email message addressed to Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s team in the Oireachtas, Ireland\u2019s national parliament.<\/span><\/p>\n

He argued that the proposed ban on settlement goods \u201cdoes just that by undercutting Palestinians truly interested in peace and empowering Hamas terrorists and recalcitrant Palestinians who refuse even to approach negotiations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

King\u2019s appeal was made in July and has not been previously reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite his strong connections with Ireland\u2019s politicians, King could not persuade Fianna F\u00e1il to change its stance. The party\u2019s lawmakers have twice<\/a> voted<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in favor of the Occupied Territories Bill, as the proposed ban on settlement goods is known<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Niall Collins, Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s spokesperson on foreign affairs, confirmed that King had been in contact with the party. Collins added that staff from the US embassy in Dublin had visited him \u201ca couple of times,\u201d urging him to oppose the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHuge issue\u201d<\/h2>\n

During a trip<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>to the West Bank in the summer, Collins was taken aback by the scale of Israel\u2019s settlement activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI struggle to see how a two-state solution can ever be achieved because of the whole proliferation of the settlements,\u201d Collins told The Electronic Intifada. \u201cThe whole West Bank now is so fragmented that I struggle to see how that pipe dream can occur.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The position taken by Fianna F\u00e1il has proven vital towards having the bill approved by the Seanad, the upper house in the Oireachtas. Nominally in opposition, Fianna F\u00e1il is enabling the work of a minority government led by its rival Fine Gael through a \u201cconfidence and supply<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u201d arrangement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas Fine Gael has tried to torpedo the Occupied Territories Bill, Fianna F\u00e1il has backed it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il has previously proven accommodating to the US elite. While in government, it allowed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the US to refuel military planes in Shannon Airport at the time of the 2003 war against Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n

But on the issue of Israel\u2019s settlement goods, Fianna F\u00e1il has listened to public opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collins acknowledged that he was unaware of the depth of Irish empathy for the Palestinians until he became his party\u2019s foreign affairs spokesperson earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was very surprised at the time,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I understand now that Palestine is a huge issue for people in Ireland.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reactionary<\/h2>\n

The arguments made by Peter King smack of double standards. His use of the term \u201cterrorists\u201d to describe Palestinian resistance fighters is at odds with how he has previously defended<\/a><\/strong><\/span> Irish republicans involved in an armed struggle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although he suggests that Hamas should be isolated, King encouraged dialogue with Irish republicans at a time when the British government was refusing to deal with them. He has taken credit<\/a><\/strong><\/span> for persuading Bill Clinton, then US president, to issue a visa for Gerry Adams, then leader of the political party Sinn F\u00e9in, in 1994.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adams\u2019 visit to New York is widely recognized<\/a><\/strong><\/span> as having helped to advance the Irish peace process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Equally, King is wrong to assert that a ban on settlement goods would undercut Palestinians \u201ctruly interested in peace.\u201d His argument overlooks how Israel\u2019s apartheid system \u2013 including its relentless colonization of the West Bank \u2013 is the primary obstacle to peace and justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ban being considered in Ireland aims to make Israel pay a price for its settlement activities. Under the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, building settlements in a territory acquired by force is a war crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the recent past, King has proven to be an especially reactionary member of Congress. He has, for example, supported<\/a><\/strong><\/span> President Donald Trump\u2019s attempts to prevent residents of seven largely Muslim countries from entering the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

King did not respond to a request for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inspired by a strike<\/h2>\n

Advocates of the ban on settlement goods have drawn inspiration from a strike<\/a><\/strong><\/span> by staff of the Irish retailer Dunnes Stores in the 1980s. By refusing to handle South African goods, the Dublin strikers made a significant contribution to an international campaign that would ultimately result in sanctions being imposed on Pretoria\u2019s apartheid government.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are being watched from all over the world,\u201d said Frances Black, the Irish senator who formally proposed the Occupied Territories Bill. \u201cIf this legislation gets through here in Ireland, I have no doubt that other countries will follow suit \u2013 just like what happened with the Dunnes Stores workers in Dublin.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Black, also a well-known singer, has been touring Ireland over the past few months to promote a ban on Israeli settlement goods.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Thank you to the wonderful people of Carrigaline, Cork for welcoming Palestinian farmers Mona & Fayez today ? They talked about life under occupation, dreams of a better life & got messages of solidarity from local Irish farmers. Thx @emitincork<\/a> @trocaire<\/a> @ChristianAidIrl<\/a> ? pic.twitter.com\/hZoysRdlj4<\/a><\/p>\n

— Frances Black (@frances_black) July 9, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n