Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The number of dead and injured in Gaza is so large that it almost defies our ability to comprehend. There are 11,180 dead, 4,609 of whom are children and 3,900 of whom are children. There are 28,200 injured and 2,700 trapped in rubble. By the time this debate ends, 12 more children will have been killed. Children are being wiped out by the murderous Israeli military, which is hell-bent on clearing Gaza of every last Palestinian, and which views hospitals, schools and people queueing up for bread as legitimate targets.

No one could condone the attack on the Israeli civilian population on 7 October that led to this latest outbreak of ethnic cleansing by Israel, but that attack was not a spontaneous act of violence. We cannot see it in isolation or be blind to the oppression and policy of apartheid with which the Palestinian people have been subjugated for the last 75 years. The world turned its back on Palestine as its people were driven from their lands and into camps where generations of Palestinians now live. The US has provided financial, political and military cover while hundreds of thousands of illegal Israeli settlers have steadily encroached and stolen more and more land in direct violation of internal law. Even now, under the cover of attacks on Gaza, settlers are visiting violence on the West Bank, where homes are being burned and destroyed. This is a blatant case of ethnic cleansing.

I wish the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, well as he heads to the region this week. I hope he has success in advocating for peace. There must be an immediate ceasefire. All hostages must be released. Israel must be referred to the ICC.

I thank councillors of South Dublin County Council and my Sinn Féin colleague, Councillor Louise Dunne, for passing a motion of solidarity and agreeing to fly the Palestinian flag. I call for an end to this war on children.

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