Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his statement today outlining the Government's position on Gaza. A vein ran through his statement which reflects and echoes the sentiments held by the Irish people in regard to what is happening in Gaza and the sheer savagery of Israel in this regard. Ireland has always enjoyed the status of an honest broker in international affairs. It is very important that we not just protect same but exercise it, when an opportunity arises, in any way that we possibly can.

The bottom line in all of this is that the Palestinian people are entitled to independence. The Palestinian people are entitled to sovereignty and they are entitled to all the human rights which go with same. Human rights is not for barter and are not to be given or taken away at the whim of a powerful foe. When Senator Norris spoke earlier he did so without the shackles of pseudo-diplomacy and that is what we need to do. We must express what we feel. We must express what we are hearing from the citizens of Ireland, much of which is against the backdrop of our own history. We do not have to go too far back in history to realise that many of the same elements exist.

Any time I have spoken in this House on Gaza, I have promptly received a missive from the Israeli ambassador. I received one when the power-sharing Government was formed in Gaza. One could see immediately a parallel with the Northern Ireland situation. Instead of Israel welcoming that development, which has to be a first step in conflict resolution, it went on a diplomatic offensive to undermine it. That tells me it does not want a united approach from the Palestinian people. When it condemns Hamas, it will have to remember that Hamas put itself before the people for election and received a majority of the votes. I was disappointed when, prior to the election, the President of the United States welcomed the fact an election was taking place but hours after the result went on the offensive to undermine it.

There is no question but that the Israelis listen to us, otherwise we would not get these prompt responses from the Israeli embassy. What I will say, when it comes to the debate we are having today, is that Israel can be left in no doubt whatsoever as to our views because what we have witnessed is barbaric, savage, has a blood lust attached to it and has, above all else, a genocidal thrust behind it. That is what worries me most of all.

I do not believe that the Israeli people are to be blamed; it is the leadership in Israel that has to answer the questions. Unless we take a stand internationally, we will not progress this issue. The UN will be the biggest casualty at the end of the day because it did not do what was expected of it when it came to human rights. We must have immediate sanctions against Israel. It must be brought before a war crimes tribunal and it must be held responsible for what it has done to an innocent, defenceless people who live in the largest concentration camp in the world and who are bombarded. Every bit of progress they make is once again knocked so that they are not able to help their own people. They do not have medical services and access to education. The reason is that Israel has made up its mind that there is no way it will tolerate the Palestinian people achieving what Israel itself achieved.

That is why we should have voted for the resolution because all that was requested was that an investigation would take place. It did not take place and that is why there is a stalemate currently.