Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The motion states the Government should exercise its right, under Article 14 of the Rome Statute, to refer the situation in the state of Palestine to the International Criminal Court, ICC, prosecutor. This call for a referral, however, appears redundant on two fronts. The first is that the ICC is currently investigating the matter in Palestine, with the prosecutor, Karim Ahmad Khan, having clarified on several occasions over the past week that his investigation is covering the ongoing conflict, including all the events since 7 October of this year.

Second, the most relevant but inconvenient fact is that such moves are, in the first instance, no more than political posturing, carrying no meaningful weight, since Israel, like the United States, Russia, China, India and a raft of other countries, are not even members of the International Criminal Court and do not recognise its jurisdiction. What, therefore, is this all about? It is like a lot of the political posturing of many establishment politicians in Ireland, and Sinn Féin has now entered the establishment class, in my opinion. Why let simple practicalities get in the way of political point-scoring?

We in the Rural Independent Group fully support the calls for a ceasefire, expressing our deep concern over civilian casualties. The recent focus on Gaza's hospitals is atrocious and must stop. Unfortunately, these hospitals are reported to be potential Hamas strongholds and headquarters, which, if it is the case, is shocking, but only time will tell that-----

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