The Irish government will present plans this week to ban trade with Israeli businesses in occupied Palestinian territories.
The European nation is even considering a ban on Airbnb, after the Guardian reported that over 700 rooms and apartments in illegal Israeli settlements were listed on the travel website.
Ireland’s goods imports from Israeli businesses in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are minuscule. But if approved, Ireland would become the first member of the European Union to impose any kind of trade ban on Israel.
The move comes in response to the renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza, and the nearly three-months long blockade of humanitarian aid. If Ireland's trade ban expands to all of Israel, Tel Aviv could be in trouble.
In 2024, Israel's global trade constituted over $91.5 billion in imports and $61.7 billion in exports. Israel's imports electrical machinery and mechanical appliances worth $19 billion, automobiles worth $10 billion, chemical products and pharmaceuticals worth $8 billion, mineral products worth $7 billion, and gems and jewelry worth $5 billion.
The top five countries that sell to Israel are China worth $19 billion, the US worth $9.4 billion, Germany worth $5.6 billion, Italy worth $3.56 billion and Turkey worth $2.8 billion. While the top five countries that buy from Israel are the US worth $17.2 billion, Ireland worth $3.2 billion, China worth $2.8 billion, Netherlands worth $2.7 billion and Germany worth $2.3 billion.
Now, the European Union itself is considering scrapping trade with Israel. Last week, a majority of EU member states voted to review the bloc's trade deal with Tel Aviv.
If the review results in a ban, Israel's trade with Germany, Italy, Ireland and Netherlands — all among Israel top trade partners — would be in jeopardy. Israel's economy is unlikely to survive without trade with the 27-member bloc.
The United Kingdom has already announced its plan to suspend free trade with Israel. This over Israel's military conduct in Gaza and illegal settlements in occupied West Bank.
Notably, Israel has a Free Trade Agreement with the UK since 2022. According to the United Nations global trade database, the UK ranked as Israel's 11th largest import partner in 2024, with imports worth over $1.96 billion.
The main imports from the UK included jet engines, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals and vehicles. UK was also Israel’s eighth largest export destination, receiving Israeli exports valued at about $1.57 billion — primarily diamonds, chemical products, machinery and electronics.
With a growing chorus calling for sanctions and trade bans against Israel, world leaders are hoping that economic consequences will succeed where international law has failed. It remains to be seen how long the world takes to implement these measures, and whether they would be effective in stopping Israel's senseless war in Gaza.
