Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, all the best in his new portfolio. No doubt we will have plenty of battles here.

To date, more than 200 Palestinians, mostly civilians including women and children, have been killed. In contrast, there has been one fatality on the Israeli side. I do not understand how the Government has stayed so silent. More than 300,000 Palestinians have been asked to move or have been displaced in preparation for an imminent attack. What is happening right now amounts to a massacre, not a war. We should all be concerned.

Israel claims that it has the right to self-defence, but an occupying power does not have the right to defence. It has an obligation and a duty to protect the civilians under its occupation. Even if it fails to meet that duty, it must abide by humanitarian law and the principles of distinction, proportionality and necessity. It has not abided by any of these.

What is happening in Gaza amounts to war crimes. It is a repeat of what happened in 2008, 2009 and 2012. We will see this repeated unless Israel is held to account under international humanitarian law and international criminal law. We need responsible governments to introduce sanctions in order to work towards stopping these massacres and to address the root causes of these flare-ups, which is the structural violence of occupation, apartheid and settler colonialism.

Hamas and other Palestinian leaders are suspicious of the Middle East envoy, Mr. Tony Blair, acting as the link between Israel and Egypt. Blair is clearly a defender of Israel's interests and in the interest of peace, the Government should advocate at European level for the removal of Blair, who should be tried for war crimes for his disgraceful involvement in the Iraq war.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, "No international pressure will prevent us from acting with all power", claiming to have recently had good conversations with leaders, including US President Obama and EU Heads of Government. Will Ireland also be complicit? Despite that the United Nations top human rights official has called for an investigation into Israeli air strikes in Gaza on the grounds that the targeting of Palestinian homes resulting in a high death toll among civilians, particularly children, violates international law, is there any chance the Government would take a neutral position and highlight how disgraceful the Israeli behaviour is?

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