"Efforts abroad to undermine the integrity of Ireland's position," Taoiseach says

Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that there are "efforts abroad to undermine the integrity of Ireland's position" on the situation in Gaza.

RTÉ News reports that the Taoiseach was responding to a question on Friday, July 18, about political opposition in the US to Ireland's proposed Occupied Territories Bill, which is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny.

"We don't want, in any way, to undermine Ireland," the Taoiseach told RTÉ News in Cork on Friday.

"The whole purpose of this exercise is not that Ireland would suffer unduly in respect of this.

"But it's interesting that across Europe now, there's an issue around the compatibility of how the European Union approaches this and the decision of the ICJ [International Court of Justice] in respect of the Occupied Territories in Palestine."

The Taoiseach said he would "reject very strongly" any suggestion that there is "antisemitism in terms of the Irish position."

He added: "And there are efforts abroad to undermine the integrity of Ireland's position, to misrepresent Ireland's position, we're conscious of that.

"But we will also work to protect our economic interests and the national interest, and we'll do that too."

The Taoiseach's comments come the same week a slew of US politicians took to social media to criticize Ireland's proposed legislation to ban the trade of goods with Israeli-occupied territories.

On Tuesday night, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas, relied on lame stereotypes to express his criticism.

"Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication?" Huckabee said in a post on X on Tuesday night, July 15.

"It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis.

"Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA [Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs] & say you’re sorry!"

Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA & say you’re sorry! https://t.co/aiOcmCQWZ8

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 16, 2025

In what appears to be a coordinated pile-on, Huckabee's criticism was echoed - though without the shameless stereotyping - by a mix of Senators and Representatives, Democrats and Republicans.

US Senators Rick Scott, Tom Cotton, and Lindsey Graham, as well as US Representatives Tom Emmer, Mike Lawler, Josh Gottheimer, Daniel Webster, Brad Schneider, Pete Stauber, Lisa McClain, Harriet Hageman, Andy Ogles, and Barry Moore all took to social media on Tuesday and Wednesday to hit out at Ireland's proposed legislation.

Most of those posting on X linked to either the July 10 "Ireland will regret its anti-Israel boycott" column on The Hill, or the July 13 "BDS Will Be Bad for Irish Business" column in the Wall Street Journal.

This week's wave of criticism from US politicians comes after US Senator James Risch, Chair of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, said on social media on July 1 that Ireland is "on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering."

He said if the legislation is implemented, "America will have to seriously reconsider its deep and ongoing economic ties," adding, "We will always stand up to blatant antisemitism."

Prohibit the importation of goods

Ireland's Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris published the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill on June 25 after it was approved by the Cabinet.

Upon publication, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the main purpose of the Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Any such importation will thereby become an offence under the Customs Act 2015, and the prohibition created by the Bill will also then engage the customs powers under that Act, including those relating to search, seizure, and forfeiture.

The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Oireachtas began its pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed legislation on July 1.

Should the legislation be passed, Ireland will become the first European country to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories.