Occupied Territories Bill signed into law by President

The long-awaited bill banning goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories in Palestine has been signed into law, despite ongoing criticism it does not include a ban on services.

President Catherine Connolly signed the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 into law this afternoon.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding the annexed east Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians, which is illegal under international law.

The now-law is the Government's version of Independent senator Frances Black's original Occupied Territories Bill, which she first drew up almost a decade ago, in 2018.

That original bill included calls for both a ban on goods and services from the occupied territories as, its supporters argued, it would be ineffective unless it included both areas.

However, despite an Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee last year recommending both should be included in the coalition's subsequently drawn up bill, Government has said its legal advice is that this would present too big an appeal risk.

While she was an Independent TD and before taking up her current role, President Connolly had supported Ms Black's original bill which included both goods and services, while also acknowledging the responsibilities a president has in terms of signing bills into law.

At the start of July, the Government's bill was passed by both the Dáil and Seanad after being debated in both houses.

In a statement this afternoon, Áras an Uachtaráin said: "Having considered the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026, the President [Catherine Connolly] has signed the bill and it has accordingly become law."