Irish parliament passes resolution against occupation of Palestinian land by Israel

DUBLIN (Reuters) – The Irish parliament passed a resolution condemning the 'de facto annexation' of Palestinian land by Israeli authorities.

The motion passed Wednesday by the Dail, the Lower House of Ireland’s parliament, condemned the “recent and ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the motion conveys Ireland’s concern that Israel’s actions are undermining prospects for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel’s actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is actually happening on the ground. ... It is de facto annexation,” Coveney said.

“This is not something that I, or in my view this house, says lightly. We are the first EU state to do so. But it reflects the huge concern we have about the intent of the actions and of course, their impact,” he added.

Most countries view settlements Israel has built in territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal and as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. The United States and Israel dispute this.

The motion came days after a ceasefire ended 11 days of the worst fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel in years. The violence sparked large pro-Palestinian protests in Dublin.