Ireland will “pay a price” if the Occupied Territories Bill is passed, the Israeli foreign minister has warned, writes Brian Mahon.

Gideon Sa’ar’s remarks come on foot of a concerted campaign by prominent US politicians in recent days to warn Ireland against passing the controversial legislation.

The laws – described as “largely symbolic” by the Government – would ban trade with territories which are illegally occupied by Israel in the West Bank, in a show of solidarity with Palestine.

In comments reported by The Times of Israel, Mr Sa’ar said: “We are taking intensive action against this legislation – it is antisemitic.

“If they pass it, Ireland will pay a price. You can’t keep turning the other cheek.

“The Irish legislation is antisemitic because it’s based on the residence of Jews and blocks import and export interaction.”

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin rejected comments by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who called on Ireland to apologise for the legislation.

In a post on Twitter/X, Mr Huckabee said: “Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to an act of diplomatic intoxication?

“It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call the Israeli Foreign Ministry and say you’re sorry!”

Asked for comment on the remarks, Mr Martin said: “I reject the comments made by the ambassador.”

Yesterday, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe criticised the language used by Mr Huckabee – a close ally of US President Donald Trump – in his tweet.

“That kind of language is not language that any Irish diplomat would ever use about another country or policy,” he told Newstalk.

“It’s certainly not the kind of language which this or any other Irish Government would ever use.

“I know there will be many who will be offended by that... What we should do is focus on the substance of the issue.”

There is significant concern within the Government that Ireland may be targeted by the US administration for its pro-Palestinian stance.

In the last week, articles have appeared in prominent US media outlets such as Fox News, The Hill and The Wall Street Journal criticising the legislation.

In recent days, pressure has been ramped up on the Irish Government to drop its plans to forge ahead with the legislation.

Senior American politicians, including Trump supporter Lindsay Graham, said the plans would not go unnoticed.

Mr Sa’ar has made previous criticisms of the Irish Government.

In December, he said Simon Harris, who was Taoiseach at the time, was “antisemitic” after the Fine Gael leader accused Israel in an interview of starving children and killing civilians.

Mr Sa’ar said: “Is Israel starving children? When Jewish children died of starvation in the Holocaust, Ireland was at best neutral in the war against Nazi Germany.”

Photo: Gideon Saar. (Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)