Ireland seeking legal advice over trade with Israel

Ireland’s premier is seeking legal advice over trade with Israel.

While noting that international trade policy is an EU competency, Simon Harris said he was writing to Irish Attorney General Rossa Fanning for “fresh legal advice” on the domestic possibilities.

Mr Harris said that “every lever” must be pulled to maximise pressure on the Israeli government to bring forward a cessation of violence in Gaza.

The leaders of Ireland’s three coalition parties decided on Thursday that the State would not procure any further defence or military equipment and contracts from Israel.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Harris said the action was “appropriate” and in line with rulings of the International Court of Justice.

In July, the UN’s top court declared Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful and called for settlement construction to stop immediately.

Mr Harris said: “I think it’s really important when an international court makes substantive findings, that those findings are given effect in every way.”

He called it a “further step” after Ireland had recognised Palestinian statehood, voted to support Palestine’s membership of the UN and increased humanitarian aid to the region.

“In the midst of one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our lifetime, where children are dying and being maimed on a daily basis, where the World Food Programme cannot properly function, where we’re seeing aid not only not non-increase but reduce, and where we’re seeing the conflict spreading with the activity we saw in the West Bank, which was clearly utterly disproportionate, it is really important that all governments, including the Irish Government, continue to probe what more can be done.”

Under EU treaties and common commercial policy, the European Commission represents Ireland and all other member states in international trade negotiations.

However, Mr Harris said the decision around suspending imports of defence equipment currently is “legally possible” under the context of the ICJ ruling.

He added that he was seeking further advice from the State’s top legal adviser on whether the rulings had any implications for other areas of trade with Israel.

He told Newstalk radio: “Today, I’m going to write to the Attorney General and I’m going to seek fresh legal advice in relation to the entire matter of trade in the context of the most recent International Court of Justice ruling.

“Because it has been the absolute clear legal advice from successive attorneys general that trade is a European competency.”

He said Ireland was continuing to call for an urgent review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement as he said human rights clauses in the trade pact were being breached.

“Human rights clauses aren’t in there to pad out the document, they have to have real meaning and real effect.

“I make this point to every European president and prime minister I meet, and will continue to advocate for that.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Transport continues to engage with an airline at the centre of reports that multiple flights carrying ammunition and explosives to Israel had transited Irish airspace.

It is prohibited to transport munitions of war on civil aircraft across Irish airspace without an exemption from the Minister for Transport.

News platform The Ditch has reported that several flights carrying munitions to weapons manufacturers and contractors in Tel Aviv have occurred since October 2023.

Speaking at the Kennedy Summer School in Wexford, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said his department is trying to get details of the payload of the flights from the airline involved.

“We’re already reviewing the various processes we have of assessing through flights, be they landing or be they overflights,” he said.

We cannot see our airspace being used for the transport of munitions that are going to be used in the war in Gaza

“We don’t allow munitions. Had such a declaration be made, we would not have agreed it.

He added: “Any occasion where there are any munitions being carried that are not appropriate, that we say no.

“So we’re trying to assess the full details of what were the payloads on those planes.”

Mr Ryan said there were no applications for those flights.

Asked what action could be taken if the Department determines there were munitions on the flights, Mr Ryan said the rules come under international law, namely the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

He said Ireland has already taken a “strong” role by calling for a review of EU-Israel trade arrangements, adding that what is happening in the Middle East is “completely unacceptable and intolerable”.

Mr Ryan’s party leader, Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman said “strong action” would have to be taken if the flights are proven to have carried munitions, adding that there was “strong anecdotal evidence”.

He told RTE radio: “I do think both in terms of the individual company but also the Israeli government, we will have to take strong action.

“We cannot see our airspace being used for the transport of munitions that are going to be used in the war in Gaza.”

The Green Party leader defined strong action as summoning the Israeli ambassador and making clear the breach would “not be tolerated”.

However, he said he was not in favour of expelling the ambassador.