The Coalition leaders will be briefed tomorrow by Attorney General Rossa Fanning on his review of legislation originally proposed by Independent Senator Frances Black.
The meeting comes as the war in the Middle East continues to intensify with the Israel Defence Forces sparking international condemnation for firing on United Nation peacekeeping bases.
Taoiseach Simon Harris sought a review of the Occupied Territories legislation following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finding that Israel has unlawfully occupied areas of Palestine.
The bill has been passed by both the Dáil and the Seanad but the Government has so far declined to enact it.
Unifil peacekeepers in Lebanon. Photo: Getty
The Attorney General is understood to have concerns about the impacts enacting the bill would have on Ireland’s legal responsibilities as a member of the European Union single market.
However, he is expected to note there have been “rare examples” of member states acting outside of the single market.
Mr Fanning will also take into consideration a legal opinion written by Professor Takis Tridimas, who worked as a legal adviser in the European Commission and Parliament, and Professor Panos Koutrakos who is a leading academic on EU law.
Both academics argued the Occupied Territories Bill is not at odds with EU law because member states can deviate from directives in order to protect the fundamental rights of the union.
In this instance, the bill aims to prohibit the import and sales of goods, services and natural resources originating in illegal settlements in occupied territories.
A government source said there would have to be “radical amendments” to the proposed legislation if it was to be voted through the Dáil.
The Taoiseach has been very clear that we should look at everything
If the Attorney General gives legal clearance, the Government would draft its own occupied territories bill which would be introduced the Dáil.
However, it is unlikely the Coalition would have time before the general election to draft a bill and have it pass through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Fianna Fáil and the Green Party committed to passing the Occupied Territories Bill before in their 2020 general election manifestos.
The Taoiseach wants to “use every level possible” to stop the Israel war in Gaza and Lebanon and will be urging his EU counterparts to revisit the trade agreement they have with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime in light to the ICJ ruling.
“The Taoiseach has been very clear that we should look at everything but even the most pro-Palestinian countries in the world haven’t taken these measures. So you would want to be on solid legal grounds,” a government source said.
“The bill as it currently is has a lot of legal difficulties. The question is are there parts we could use.”
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: AP
There are concerns within the Coalition over the political and diplomatic ramifications of introducing the legislation which would essentially impose trade sanctions on Israel.
The EU has been unable to find a united position on sanctions on Israeli but it has imposed travel bans on a number of extremist Israeli settlers engaged in violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the ICJ advisory opinion on the illegal Israeli settlements is “important” in the context of the Occupied Territories Bill.
“We await further advices from the Attorney General, which I expect we will get shortly, in respect of both the Bill and the impact of the ICJ,” Mr Martin said.
“The ICJ places obligations on states in respect of the occupation, whereby nothing can be done that would in any way aid or support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. In my view, this creates a new context in which we must look at this.”
