- 9 mins read time
- Published: 5th June 2026
How do we rescue the Occupied Territories Bill from being watered down?
Ireland’s long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill is finally moving forward, with the Government aiming to pass it in the coming weeks. This is a really significant step for Ireland to take in solidarity with the people of Palestine – finally moving towards measures that have an actual economic impact for Israel’s appalling human rights record.
If done right, the Occupied Territories Bill will end all trade between Ireland and illegal Israeli settlements, but unfortunately the government intends to significantly water down the bill by completely excluding services, proposing a weaker approach than what Spain has already passed.
Here we explain the latest developments, why this is so important, and how you can take action to rescue the bill and make sure it is not watered down.
What does the Government’s version of the Occupied Territories Bill do?
The legislation now being introduced by the Government proposes to ban the import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
This reflects a significantly narrower approach than earlier proposals. Previous versions of the Bill and recommendations from the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs committee envisaged covering both goods (e.g. avocados and dates) as well as services (e.g. tech and tourism). It would be a weaker approach than Spain has already taken, which included a ban on advertising tourism services.
Why take trade measures against Israeli settlements?
Israel’s illegal settlement project on Palestinian land has fragmented the West Bank and destroyed the Palestinian economy, resulting in widespread poverty and suffering.
Palestinian families we work with routinely face extremist settler violence, forcible transfer and dispossession, harsh restrictions on their freedom of movement, and a total denial of their right to self-determination.
Despite the devastating humanitarian impact and illegality of Israeli settlements under international law, Ireland and the EU continue to support these Israeli settlements by trading with them.
What is the background to the Occupied Territories Bill?
The Occupied Territories Bill was introduced by independent Senator Frances Black in 2018 and is supported by Oxfam Ireland, as well as other leading human rights organisations, trade unions, academics, politicians, and thousands of campaigners across the country.
A Sunday Independent poll in 2025 showed that 74% of the Irish public – an overwhelming majority – supported passing the bill.
Why is it so important that services be included?
Campaigners, legal experts and civil society organisations argue that excluding services risks significantly weakening the impact of the law. 70% of Ireland’s trade with Israel is in services.
Services include digital platforms, tourism and financial activities - which play a major role in supporting illegal settlement economies.
If we exclude services, the Occupied Territories Bill risks becoming largely symbolic rather than fully effective. Excluding services means that online booking platforms based in Ireland will still be legally able to advertise holiday lettings in illegal settlements to customers in Ireland.
Leaving services out will also set a lower bar for other EU countries to follow, if they replicate our law.
But wouldn’t a ban on services be difficult to implement in practice?
The argument that including a ban on services would be difficult to implement doesn’t stack up when you consider the fact that we already implement a ban on both goods and services when it comes to trade with Russian occupied territories in Ukraine’s Crimea. It suggests double standards that we would apply a different logic when it comes to implementing a ban in Israeli occupied territories.
What does international law say about goods and services?
The International Court of Justice made clear in 2024 that states have a legal obligation not to trade with illegal Israeli settlements. That's all trade - the court did not distinguish between goods and services, and we cannot just cherry pick which aspects of international law suit us.
Eminent legal experts, including over 400 Irish lawyers, and Ireland’s own human rights commission have warned that excluding services could fall short of these obligations.
Services must be included: we have a legal obligation to do it, we have implemented it in other contexts, it will have far greater impact, it sets a higher bar for other EU countries to replicate, and it is simply the right thing to do.
Should we not wait until the EU takes action together, wouldn’t that have more impact?
If the EU took action as a whole bloc to ban trade with settlements, that would have the most impact. However, at present that is not a realistic option in the short term, given divisions within the EU on how to take action on Israel.
However, we don’t have to wait for the EU to act as one. Spain and Slovenia have already taken action unilaterally to introduce trade bans with settlements and Belgium and the Netherlands are also currently progressing legislation.
In fact, the more countries that introduce national measures like the Occupied Territories Bill, the more momentum it creates for the EU to act.
What approach has Spain taken?
Spain’s recent measures are particularly relevant to the Irish debate because they explicitly recognise the role of services in sustaining settlement activity.
Under legislation introduced in 2025, Spain moved to prohibit not just goods, but also the advertising and promotion of services linked to illegal settlements - including tourism-related activities such as marketing accommodation, tours and travel in these areas.
Settlements are sustained through online platforms, travel services, and financial activity that help normalise and profit from them.
It does not make sense for Ireland to introduce a goods-only ban when Spain has already set a stronger precedent. This would also be damaging as it could undermine Spain’s approach becoming the standard adopted by other EU countries. Ireland should not introduce a weaker approach.
What happens next?
The Occupied Territories Bill is now expected to progress quickly through the Oireachtas in the coming weeks. Opposition parties have signalled they will push to amend the legislation to include services, while the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill, which Oxfam Ireland is a member of, continues to advocate for a stronger version of the law.
We need to see a full ban on services included. At the very least, Ireland should follow the example set by Spain and include a ban on advertising tourism services. Setting a lower bar than the one set by Spain would be a let down for the people of Palestine.
Replicating Spain's approach could also help this become the norm that's adopted by other EU countries, which would demonstrate real leadership from Ireland as we take up the EU Presidency.
These weeks are crucial – will Ireland buckle under the pressure of vested interests, or will we uphold international law in the face of the most serious crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid?
What can I do to help?
In these crucial remaining weeks, you can play a role in the fight to rescue the Occupied Territories Bill from being watered down.
We need to put pressure on our local TDs to deliver a full ban on all trade with the illegal settlements – including services like tech and tourism. We have only a few short weeks to do this, so we need to do it urgently. Can you help keep the pressure on your elected representatives?
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I’ve 1 minute: Share our explainer video on social media to spread the word
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I’ve 5 minutes: Write to your local TDs
Write your own email or even better yet, a hand-written letter to your local TD.
You can use our template letter below, but please take a few minutes to re-write this in your own words. Research shows that personal messages have a much greater impact on politicians. Also include your name and address, so they know you’re a constituent (they’ll pay more attention to local voters).* Click here for the template letter
* Click here to find the email addresses of your local TDs
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I’ve more time: pick up the phone to your local TDs’ constituency offices
Call your local TDs to let them know that this is an issue you care deeply about. You don’t have to be an expert! Just let them know these three key points:*That you care deeply about the human rights crisis in Palestine
*That you want to see the Occupied Territories Bill passed without delay
*That you want both goods and services included, and that there’s no reason that we can’t do what Spain has already done at the very least
* Click here to find the contact details of your local TDs
I’ve 1 minute: Share on social media
Share our explainer video on social media to spread the word.
I’ve 5 minutes: Write to your local TDs
Write your own email or even better yet, a hand-written letter to your local TD.
You can use our template letter below, but please take a few minutes to re-write this in your own words. Research shows that personal messages have a much greater impact on politicians. Also include your name and address, so they know you’re a constituent (they’ll pay more attention to local voters).
I’ve more time: pick up the phone to your local TDs’ constituency offices
Call your local TDs to let them know that this is an issue you care deeply about. You don’t have to be an expert! Just let them know these three key points:
That you care deeply about the human rights crisis in Palestine
That you want to see the Occupied Territories Bill passed without delay
That you want both goods and services included, and that there’s no reason that we can’t do what Spain has already done at the very least
