AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy for Legal and International Affairs of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday (May 27) in reaction to Ireland's decision to pass a law banning imports from settlements of the Zionist regime: "Ireland's announcement of its decision to pass a law banning imports from illegal settlements of the Zionist regime is a commendable step towards translating respect for international law from slogan to practice."
Purchasing Settlement Products; Economic Complicity in the Continuation of Occupation
Gharibabadi, noting that the International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion in 2004, stated that the establishment of these settlements constitutes a violation of international law, emphasized: "According to this opinion, states are obligated not to recognize the illegal situation and not to contribute to its maintenance; therefore, buying and selling settlement products is not an ordinary transaction, but rather economic complicity in the continuation of occupation and the whitewashing of an illegal situation."
He noted, "Now it is the turn of other states, especially Western claimants of international law, to implement the same rules they advocate, instead of retreating under pressure from the Zionist regime, some American lawmakers, and commercial lobbies."
It is worth noting that the Irish government has approved draft legislation banning the import of goods from Israeli settlements. Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee also stated that Dublin will also work at the EU level to adopt a tougher stance against Israeli settlements. According to her, a bloc-wide ban on trade in goods with illegal settlements would be the strongest response to Israel's actions.
Last week, the European Union for the first time adopted sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. McEntee said that although there is still no full consensus among EU members regarding the Zionist regime, the regime's recent actions, including the detention of activists of the "Global Flotilla for Al-Sumud," have changed the political atmosphere in Europe, and there is now "a greater willingness to react."
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