The office of Prime Minister Foreign and Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Irish ambassador will be summoned to a reprimand in the Foreign Ministry on Friday, after the Irish parliament approved a law promoting a boycott of Judea and Samaria products.
“Israel is outraged over the legislation against it in the Dail which is indicative of hypocrisy and anti-Semitism,” said Netanyahu’s office in a statement.
“Instead of Ireland condemning Syria for slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians, Turkey for the occupation of northern Cyprus and the terrorist organizations for murdering thousands of Israelis, it attacks Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. What a disgrace,” the statement added.
Israel's Foreign Ministry had earlier blasted Ireland after its parliament advanced the law criminalizing business with entities connected to Judea and Samaria.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the law is a result of "pure hostility on the part of its initiators and deserving of full condemnation".
The legislation had previously been approved by the upper house of the Irish parliament. It is believed that the Irish government is likely to refuse to implement the legislation even if it passes the lower house.
The discussion on the bill at the Irish Senate was postponed last January after Ireland's Ambassador to Israel, Alison Kelly, was summoned for a meeting at the Foreign Ministry to clarify the legislative initiative. However, the bill was brought back to the table in July.