Ireland’s government has supported a parliamentary motion condemning the “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land by Israeli authorities in what it said was the first use of the phrase by a European Union government in relation to Israel.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, supported the motion on Tuesday, and condemned what he described as Israel’s “manifestly unequal” treatment of the Palestinian people.

“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 actually 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.

John Brady, Sinn Féin foreign affairs spokesman, said: “We are baldly stating that Israel is acting illegally under international law”.

“Ireland has the potential to be a pathfinder for a principled and morally robust approach within the European Union and the UN security council.”

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.