What has happened in recent days in Jenin in the West Bank "amount[s] to an egregious [violation] of international law and standards on the use of force and may constitute a war crime." They are not my words but those of experts from the United Nations. Twelve Palestinians were murdered by Israeli forces; five of them were children. Thousands were forced from their homes - which are in refugee camps, by the way. When they returned, many of those homes had been destroyed, water and electricity services were cut and roads had been bombarded. Israel had managed to make refugees out of refugees. For years, in defiance of UN resolutions, the Israeli Government has been carrying out indiscriminate attacks on Palestine as the occupation of the Palestinian territory and apartheid intensified. It is shameful.
This morning I met with the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland and I join the Ceann Comhairle in welcoming her to the House. I extended to her our solidarity with the Palestinian people and take this opportunity to do so again. Our thoughts, solidarity and prayers are with them at this time but they need more than that. The actions of Israel are, as ever, undermining efforts to secure a sustainable and peaceful two-state solution. Those actions must be urgently challenged by the international community. Without sanction or adequate diplomatic response, I fear we will see more innocent civilians killed in the coming days, weeks, months and years. It is long past time the international community, particularly the European Union, took action in response to Israeli aggression and oppression and acted to defend the rights of the people of Palestine.
The onus is also on the Government to respond robustly. The world must say stop and Ireland must lead the way. This House has adopted strong resolutions with cross-party support demanding an end to Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestinian lands. We now need to see action from the Government and from the Tánaiste as Minister for Foreign Affairs. We must take measures to end the EU’s preferential trading relationship with Israel. We should start by withdrawing Irish State investment from companies operating in the occupied territory, as outlined in Deputy Brady’s Bill currently before this House. We should also pass the occupied territories Bill because the Palestinian people need our solidarity but they need much more than that. History tells us Israel will not stop without a strong international response. Only a sustained campaign by the international community to call out Israel’s continual war crimes against the Palestinian people will make them stop.
The Government must now also move to recognise formally the state of Palestine. The Dáil passed a Sinn Féin motion to that effect in 2014; the Seanad did likewise. Yet the Government has continued to drag its heels. I urge it do so at this critical time, make a stand for peace and progress in the Middle East and formally recognise the state of Palestine. When will the Government do that? What other actions will the Tánaiste take on behalf of the Irish people that can be an example to the world and show the world aggression, annexation, apartheid and occupation will not be tolerated anywhere? What actions will he take in the face of the ongoing breaches of international law by Israel against the people of Palestine?