Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak to the motion, and I highlight the motion tabled by the Social Democrats that is due to be taken tomorrow night as well. The benefit of debating two motions on the matter in one week is that it gives all of us in the smaller groups a chance to speak.

There is no doubt the ongoing ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza needs to be continuously addressed in this House. Every evening, we get more and more depressing and upsetting news on our TVs, and it is bizarre we are witnessing the slaughter live on television. It is even more shocking when we see clearly how the West is supporting and condoning the actions of the apartheid state of Israel. Some of them might be trying to get the Israelis to be not so aggressive but, sadly, that is all they are doing. They are not saying enough is enough. The Government is not saying it needs to stop or that the onus is on Israel, as the occupying force, to act in a way that protects human life and not murder women and children indiscriminately, because that is what Israel is at, no matter what way some people would like to dress it up.

It is worth mentioning again the litany of atrocities being carried out by Israel, but the sad thing is that by the time these words have been said, the numbers will have increased inexorably. Eleven thousand people have been killed, including more than 5,000 children, 89 United Nations workers and 39 journalists. I do not believe it is accidental that the United Nations workers and the journalists appear to have been targeted. Let us not forget that journalists are supposed to be protected under international law, but we have seen that international law does not bother Israel or the EU, the US or the UK. I raised the killing of journalists in Gaza with the Taoiseach two weeks ago. He dismissed my concerns at the time, and the numbers have doubled since then.

A Trócaire staff member who is in Gaza with three young children stated:

My home is now destroyed. We haven’t electricity, internet or water. Please do something for us. Put pressure on your government and the whole world to do something.

We need to put pressure on Israel through our actions, and on the rest of the world as well. We can do that by passing the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 in this House. We can expel the Israeli ambassador, given Israel has not stopped killing journalists, UN workers or healthcare workers, and put pressure on the EU in regard to suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the EU-Israel Horizon Europe association agreement.

We can refer Israel to the International Criminal Court and support what it is doing to hold Israel to account for the atrocities it is continuing to carry out.

As if things were not bad enough, the continued violence by Israel and settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has stepped up under the cover of what is going on in Gaza. Some 150 Palestinians, including 44 children, have been killed by the army and settlers since 7 October. Combined with this is the situation in Israel for Palestinian citizens and Jews who have opposed the war in Gaza. As Trócaire pointed out, more than 110 people have been arrested in Israel for speech-related offences. Human rights lawyer Michael Sfard said, “There is a wave of silencing of any type of, not only criticism, but also just compassion.” That is what Israel would like everyone to do - silence our compassion for the Palestinian people. Thankfully, the Irish people have shown over the past few weeks that they will not be silenced through their compassion and support for oppressed people. They know instinctively what it means to be a Palestinian and to suffer under occupation and will continue to force our Government to represent their views in the wider world.

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