'Great BDS Victory': Ireland's Lower House Passes Bill Banning Israeli Settlements Goods

The Irish Lower House of the parliament voted Friday, with a majority, in favor of a bill banning the purchase of goods and services coming from the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

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If this law passes it would make Ireland the first EU nation to achieve criminalizing commercial activities with the illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The bill was put forward by the Independent senator Frances Black, looking to ban the import or sale of goods and services produced in the settlements in the West Bank. The law was backed in a vote of 78-45 votes in favor of its approbation, it is being backed by the opposition parties.

Last December, the upper house of the Irish parliament voted in favor of this bill, despite the important attempts of the United States and other European authorities backing Israel in order to destroy the bill. The bill still has to go through several reviewing and amendment stages before it can become a law.

"Ireland will always stand for international law + human rights, & we're one step closer to making history. Onwards!," stated opposition senator Frances Black on a tweet.

This bill is a "great victory for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS)," according to Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Party, who added that an effort will be made "to pass similar laws in a number of European countries in the near future."

"Israel is outraged over the legislation against it in the Irish parliament, which is indicative of hypocrisy and anti-Semitism," a statement released by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The non-violent BDS movement, founded in 2005 by 170 Palestinian unions, political parties, refugee networks, and women organizations, among others, has gained such renown that it has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Inspired by South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, BDS calls for non-violent pressure on Israel through boycotting any organization linked to Israel, withdrawing investment from Israeli companies, and sanctioning the county until Israel 1) recognizes the right of Palestinian refugees to return, 2) ends the military occupation of Palestine, and 3) ends the apartheid regime by recognizing Palestinian's equal rights.