Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

I welcome the Minister's strong words of condemnation of the appalling treatment by Israel of the people of Gaza. Frankly, it is difficult to understand how this State or other states in Europe continue to treat Israel as if it is a normal state when it does this type of thing, yet they impose sanctions on Iran and roundly condemn it. Did the Minister raise the matter of Khader Adnan on his visit and, if not, will he raise it? Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike for 66 days. He is now critically ill and will possibly die in the next few days. He is held in so-called administrative detention, which means imprisonment without trial. He is one of 300 Palestinians, including 180 children under the age of 18 years, who are imprisoned without trial. This is a routine part of the Israeli flouting of human rights when it comes to Palestinians. Will the Minister make a public statement calling on the Israelis to release this man and to end the absolutely despicable practice of administrative detention?

See this speech in context