Ireland has become the first EU member state to declare the building of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories as de facto annexation.

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, said a Sinn Féin motion on the issue "is a clear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland."

"The Government shares that grave concern," he said."The scale, pace and strategic nature" of Israel's settlement activity "is de facto annexation", Minister Coveney told deputies.

He said that Ireland is the first EU state to say so, adding that he does not "do it lightly".

But he also insisted on adding a condemnation of recent rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas before he agreed to government support for the motion, which had been tabled by the opposition Sinn Fein party.

"The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel`s actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is happening on the ground. ... It is de facto annexation," Coveney told parliament.

"This is not something that I, or in my view this house, says lightly. We are the first EU state to do so. But it reflects the huge concern we have about the intent of the actions and of course, their impact," he said.

Most countries view settlements Israel has built-in territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal and as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. The United States and Israel dispute this.

Israel cites historical and biblical links to the West Bank and around 450,000 of its settlers live there, among 3 million Palestinians. It also denies any systematic violation of the human rights of Palestinians.

The motion came days after a ceasefire ended 11 days of the worst fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel in years. The violence sparked large pro-Palestinian protests in Dublin.

Sinn Fein refused to support the government amendment condemning Hamas attacks.

"The acts of terror by Hamas and other militant groups in firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel... cannot and should not ever be justified," Coveney said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Ireland has become the first EU member state to declare the building of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories as de facto annexation. Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, said a Sinn Féin motion on the issue "is a clear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland.

Ireland has become the first EU member state to declare the building of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories as de facto annexation. Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, said a Sinn Féin motion on the issue "is a clear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland." "The Government shares that grave concern," he said."The scale, pace and strategic nature" of Israel's settlement activity "is de facto annexation", Minister Coveney told deputies. He said that Ireland is the first EU state to say so, adding that he does not "do it lightly". But he also insisted on adding a condemnation of recent rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas before he agreed to government support for the motion, which had been tabled by the opposition Sinn Fein party. "The scale, pace and strategic nature of Israel`s actions on settlement expansion and the intent behind it have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is happening on the ground. ... It is de facto annexation," Coveney told parliament. "This is not something that I, or in my view this house, says lightly. We are the first EU state to do so. But it reflects the huge concern we have about the intent of the actions and of course, their impact," he said. Most countries view settlements Israel has built-in territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal and as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. The United States and Israel dispute this. Israel cites historical and biblical links to the West Bank and around 450,000 of its settlers live there, among 3 million Palestinians. It also denies any systematic violation of the human rights of Palestinians. The motion came days after a ceasefire ended 11 days of the worst fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel in years. The violence sparked large pro-Palestinian protests in Dublin. Sinn Fein refused to support the government amendment condemning Hamas attacks. "The acts of terror by Hamas and other militant groups in firing rockets indiscriminately into Israel... cannot and should not ever be justified," Coveney said. (With inputs from agencies)

Ireland first European country to declare Israeli settlements 'annexation'

In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry announced that Russia has ordered 20 Czech diplomats to leave the country by the end of Monday. Earlier on Saturday, Czech officials expelled 18 Russian diplomats, accusing them of being secret agents in connection with a deadly explosion at the Czech munition depot in 2014.

Russia expels 20 Czech diplomats in tit-for-tat move, gives 24 hrs to leave the country

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Ireland first European country to declare Israeli settlements 'annexation'

Russia expels 20 Czech diplomats in tit-for-tat move, gives 24 hrs to leave the country