For a decade, Irish NGOs have been advocating for the “Occupied Territories Bill,” which would ban the import and sale of goods and services purportedly originating in Israeli communities in the West Bank. 

Originally drafted in 2016 by an NGO and launched in 2018, the “Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories)” proposed criminal penalties of up to five years in prison and fines of up to €250,000 for Irish citizens and residents to import or sell “settlement goods” or to provide or attempt to provide “settlement services.” Among many other absurd outcomes, Irish citizens who visit the Jewish Quarter and buy a souvenir to bring back to Ireland, study the Bible, or pray at the Kotel would face jail time and fines.

Despite intensive lobbying by various NGOs, the bill stalled in 2021 over legal and political concerns, including possible conflicts with EU trade laws.

In 2023, a new version of the legislation was introduced, the “Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023.” This version shifted focus from individual economic activity to institutional investment, proposing that Irish public bodies, particularly the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), and other government agencies, be required to divest from companies listed on the UN Human Rights Council’s database of firms operating in Israeli settlements (“UN BDS Blacklist”). 

The latest iteration, re-introduced in 2025 as the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025, further narrows the scope. Unlike previous versions, the bill no longer targets services or investments, instead focusing solely on banning the import of goods produced in “Israeli settlements”, broadly defined as “a city, village or industrial zone located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”. The bill proposes using postal codes to identify such products, expanding on EU labeling guidelines established in 2019.

Since the bill’s inception, prominent Irish NGOs such as Trócaire, Sadaka Ireland, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), and Christian Aid Ireland, as well as Palestinian NGO Al-Haq, have lobbied for legislation criminalizing economic ties with Israel, alongside other intense demonization and BDS initiatives. This advocacy has also been carried out in conjunction with harassing lawsuits against companies carrying out legitimate business activity and accusing them of “complicity” in “international crimes”. Moreover, many of these NGOs are members of “The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.” 

NGO Lobbying

Trocaire (Funded by Ireland, United Kingdom, European Union, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, United Nations)

Since 2018, Trocaire has supported the Irish BDS bills.

  • Member of The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
  • In June 2025, Trocaire issued a statement claiming, “The Occupied Territories Bill should have been passed in 2018 when first introduced by Senator Frances Black. Passing the bill is only a first step in the face of the situation in Palestine. We need to act with the urgency the situation deserves…If Ireland passes this bill, we will be the first Western country to ban trade with Israel’s illegal settlements. This would be historic, and pave the way for other countries to follow us.”
  • In October 2024, Trocaire called on Ireland to “take a stronger stance; to put pressure on Israel with economic sanctions, [and] to enact the Occupied Territories Bill.”
  • In April 2024, Trocaire published a statement claiming, “Partial divestment not enough…Trócaire will continue to call for the enactment of illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill, given that it strives to ensure that Irish taxpayer money is not invested in companies listed on the UN Database.”
  • In May 2024, Trocaire published a statement calling for Ireland to “enact[] the Occupied Territories Bill and Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill in Dáil Éireann, and ensuring that Irish taxpayer money is not used for military procurement from Israeli defence contractors or investments by the Irish Strategic Investment Fund in companies complicit in the illegal Israeli settlements or the war on Gaza.”
  • In March 2023, Trocaire “welcome[d]” the “Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill.” According to Trocaire, “At a time when the newly-formed Israeli government has explicitly reaffirmed its intent to further annex the occupied West Bank, and continues to announce the development and expansion of settlements, the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 can help ensure that no Irish taxpayer funds are associated with ongoing breaches of international law.”
  • In May 2022, Trocaire called for the Irish government to “Enact the Occupied Territories Bill 2018 as soon as possible to ensure that goods and services from illegal Israeli settlements do not have access to Irish markets.”
  • In May 2021, Trocaire called for the government of Ireland to “become the first EU country to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements by enacting the Occupied Territories Bill.” Trocaire also called for the government to “Use its voice within the European Union to call for Brussels to support measures to review and downgrade its economic, cultural, military and diplomatic relationships with Israel until the occupation fully ends.”
  • In November 2019, Trócaire hosted Senator Frances Black to discuss “how people can take action to help it become law.”
  • In November 2018, Trocaire referred to the bill as an “important vote in support of international law.”

Christian Aid Ireland (Funded by Ireland, European Union, and the United Nations)

  • Member of The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
  • Christian Aid Ireland Head of Policy Conor O’Neill serves as the spokesperson for the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
  • In April 2025, Christian Aid Ireland published an article claiming, “People are talking about the ‘Gazafication’ of the West Bank, and there’s been a huge rise in settler violence and military escalation. We need to see the EU and Western states who say they believe in international law and human rights finally take action to defend them…The Occupied Territories Bill, which would end Irish economic support for the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank is a perfect example of this. As an organisation seeing the horrific impact in the West Bank every day, we urge the Irish Government to progress that legislation urgently.”
  • In September 2024, Christian Aid Ireland participated in the “launch of a new campaign to pass the Occupied Territories Bill which would make it illegal to buy settlement goods from occupied Palestinian territory. The panel is presenting new legal opinion by EU law experts showing Ireland can pass the Bill.”
  • In February 2020, Christian Aid Ireland called on all political parties to “Prioritise the advancement of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 which seeks to ban the trade of produce originating in any occupied territory.”
  • In 2018, Christian Aid Ireland supported the Irish “Control of Economic Activity (Occupied territories)” bill. According to Rosamond Bennett, Chief Executive of Christian Aid Ireland, the bill “sends an important message across the globe, that international law exists to protect people and their rights across the world. For too long, settlements and the produce that comes from them have been at the expense of Palestinian rights, forcing them off their land and into poverty.”
  • In 2018, Christian Aid Ireland co-drafted the original bill alongside Senator Frances Black.

Sadaka Ireland

  • Member of The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
  • In May 2025, Sadaka published a statement calling on the Irish government to “convert their sentiments on Israeli plans for Palestinians into tangible actions to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing – the continuing Nakba…[Ireland] must immediately pass the Occupied Territories Bill; ensure Irish airports and Irish airspace are not used to transfer armaments to Israel; and divest State funds from Israeli government bonds and from investments in enterprises operating in Israeli settlements.”
  • In 2024, Sadaka signed a petition that called to “Enact the Occupied Territories Bill.”
  • In April 2024, Sadaka tweeted, “Anatomy of a genocide. Time to act against this genocidal state. How? Remove our money from their banks, divest from enterprises complicit in illegal settlements and pass the Occupied Territories bill to end trade with settlements.”
  • In 2020, Sadaka used the General Election “to remind politicians of the extent of the support for the Occupied Territories Bill among their constituents. Sadaka mounted a constituency-by-constituency campaign, contacting candidates and asking them their position on the Bill. This was followed by a targeted campaign in which Sadaka supporters throughout the country were encouraged to contact the candidates in their area and reinforce the message that this was an issue which could determine the votes they received. This campaign undoubtedly influenced the inclusion of the Bill in the proposed Programme for Government drawn up after the election.”
  • In July 2019, Sadaka participated in a rally to “protest the Govt’s blocking of the Occupied Territories Bill to ban illegal Israeli #SettlementGoods!”
  • In 2018, Sadaka “developed” the “Control of Economic Activity (Occupied territories)” bill.
  • In 2016, Sadaka Board Member Gerry Liston drafted the original Occupied Territories Bill and worked with Senator Frances Black to prepare the legislation.

Oxfam Ireland (Funded by Ireland and European Union)

  • Member of The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
  • In June 2025, Oxfam Ireland issued a statement “welcom[ing]” the news iteration of the bill, claiming, “Today’s outline of the Israeli Settlements Prohibition of Importation of Goods Bill 2025 brought to Cabinet by Tánaiste Simon Harris is a welcome and necessary step. This is a landmark, precedent-setting bill that other countries will want to follow. Ireland continues its leadership and support for Palestinian people by clear intent to remove our own complicity in illegal settlements. We refuse to legitimise this illegal activity and the ongoing human rights abuses of Palestinian civilians. We congratulate the Irish government for progressing this Bill, building on the outstanding campaigning of Senator Frances Black and the OTB consortium…Oxfam Ireland looks forward to submitting our considered view on this draft to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.”
  • In October 2024, Oxfam Ireland published an article urging the “Irish Government to seriously take into account the legal advice published today and quickly reassess its stance on the Occupied Territories Bill – the time for action is now. Irish people want to know our hands are clean in this conflict. We don’t want to be complicit in any way with illegal Israeli occupation. We stand beside the Palestinian people who have suffered long enough.”
  • In March 2024, Oxfam Ireland sent a submission to the Oireachtas, calling on the Government to pull its investment from Israeli settlements. According to the submission, “Oxfam Ireland fully supports this bill as a means of ensuring a speedy divestment and to make it publicly clear to companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) that no Irish taxpayers’ money will go towards the continued degradation of Palestinian life.”

Al-Haq (Funded by France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden)

  • In June 2025, Al-Haq, alongside GLAN and Sadaka, launched a legal action against “Airbnb’s listings in Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” According to Al-Haq, such cases “highlight [the] importance of including a ban on services in the Occupied Territories Bill.”
  • In October 2024, Al-Haq issued a statement “welcom[ing] the Revival of Ireland’s Occupied Territories Bill.” According to Al-Haq, “Given the urgency and escalating human rights situation on the ground, this long overdue measure must be implemented immediately without delay.”
  • In September 2020, Al-Haq “sent a letter to the Taoiseach of Ireland urging support for the occupied territories bill and the recognition of the state of Palestine.”
  • In June 2020, Al-Haq sent a letter to the Irish government claiming, “the Bill will, in effect, rectify an ongoing breach of Ireland’s State obligations and so must be enacted as soon as possible.”
  • In June 2020, Al-Haq General Director Shawan Jabarin published an article titled “Passing The Occupied Territories Bill is Not Just Lawful – It is Necessary.”
  • In May 2019, Al-Haq “strongly welcomes the introduction of the Bill as a timely and important step in support of the human rights of the Palestinian people, and urges Members of the Oireachtas to progress it as a matter of urgency.”
  • In December 2018, Al-Haq “Welcome[d] Historic Adoption by Irish Senate of Occupied Territories Bill 2018.”

Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) (Funded by Canada, Trocaire, Open Society Foundations, World Council of Churches)

  • Member of The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
  • GLAN “led” the “drafting process” of the Irish “Control of Economic Activity (Occupied territories)” bill.
  • In June 2025, GLAN, Sadaka, and Al-Haq launched a legal action against “Airbnb’s listings in Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” According to GLAN, “These cases make clear why the Irish Government’s new Occupied Territories Bill must ban services linked to the Israeli settlements. In fact, by doing so, the government would be doing companies like Airbnb a favour, given the sanctions they could otherwise face if found guilty of complicity in war crimes.”
  • In January 2019, GLAN announced it “will continue providing legal input so the Bill can clear this crucial stage.”
  • In 2018, GLAN lobbied the Irish Seanad to push the bill.