Mary Robinson questions why EU continues trade agreement with Israel
Vivienne Clarke
Former president Mary Robinson has questioned why Ireland and the European Union are giving preferential trade to Israel when the Israeli government "is committing famine and an unfolding genocide".
Speaking on Newstalk radio on Thursday morning, Ms Robinson said she would “urge Ireland” to put heavy pressure to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary to suspend the current preferential trade agreement between the EU and Israel.
Article 2 of the trade agreement was far more significant to Israel than any trade impacted under the proposed Occupied Territories Bill, she said.
“Ireland should be doing everything possible to get the two-thirds majority, that would be a lot more effective.
“Israel would feel the pain. At the moment Israel has total impunity and countries are just not taking the steps they could take.”
When asked what measures she would like to see implemented, Ms Robinson said she would like to see the measures agreed in New York recently – that there should be no transfer of arms and weapons components to Israel.
“[Arms exports to Israel] must be suspended immediately. There must be targeted sanctions, and we want sanctions on prime minister Netanyahu and the whole of his security cabinet that talked about the invasion now of Gaza City.
“We want, above all else, the EU in particular, to suspend existing and future preferential trade agreements. So we urge a qualified majority of EU member states to invoke Article 2 of the EU-Israeli Association agreement, that's all about preferential trade. Why are we giving preferential to Israel when the Israeli government is committing famine and an unfolding genocide?”
Ms Robinson said that there was one person who could stop the genocide – US president Trump. “He could stop it very quickly, because he could say no more arms, you must first of all, not invade Gaza City and secondly, you must open all the border crossings.
“Of course we want the hostages released, and indeed the political prisoners held arbitrarily by Israel, the Palestinian prisoners, but the hostage must be released immediately as part of a peace deal that has to happen now, and we have to have all of the border crossings open.
“The food is all there. I was told by the UN and by the Egyptian Red Crescent, they are ready tomorrow. The foreign minister whom we had a meeting with on Sunday, a long meeting with, talked about the efforts they're making to have peace, to involve Hamas and Israel in a peace truce now to let the food in.
“They also, you know, affirmed they have all the stocks ready to move in, so we can stop this famine tomorrow. And I think president Trump has a huge responsibility, because he is increasingly seen to be very complicit in what's happening.”
