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Govt intends to continue with OTB after US Congress letter - Harris

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris has said the Government intends to continue to advance its commitment to the Occupied Territories Bill.

He was responding after a letter was written by a group of US Congress members to US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, asking him to consider adding Ireland to a list of countries which boycott Israel if the bill is passed.

Mr Harris said he was not surprised that "some seek to distort or misrepresent our proposed actions".

He said: "Ireland intends to continue to advance our commitment in relation to the Occupied Territories Bill, the Programme for Government is clear in relation to that.

"People in Ireland, in Europe and right across the world feel extraordinarily strongly about the genocidal activity that we're seeing in Gaza, about the starving children.

"We will use all tools at our disposal. It’s not a surprise that some seek to distort or misrepresent our proposed actions.

"And remember, Ireland is not alone in relation to this; this week we also saw Slovenia take action in relation to trade from the Occupied Territories, I expect Belgium are likely to do the same and we intend to advance with our legislation.

"Of course we’ll continue to engage and explain and never let our position be misrepresented."

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The bill, which was a coalition general election promise, is due to go before the Dáil and Seanad in early autumn.

A cross-party Oireachtas foreign affairs committee report last week recommended that it includes a ban on both services and goods from the Occupied Territories.

Last night, 16 US congress members,led by New York Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, said that if the bill was passed, it would equate to Ireland breaching US law by introducing an "unsanctioned boycott".

The letter expressed the group's "serious concerns" regarding the Government's proposal to prohibit the import of goods from Israeli-occupied territories.

Sinn Féin said the Government should show leadership by ensuring the Occupied Territories Bill is passed.

Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly told RTÉ's Today with Colm O'Mongáin that despite the US pressure, Ireland should continue to show leadership on the issue and ensure the bill is passed.

She added that the bill is even more relevant now given the ongoing situation in Gaza.