Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister success in his ministry which includes the important trade portfolio. It is very important to help Irish companies to expand their businesses and to create more employment.

We have all been horrified by the sheer scale and brutality of the conflict that is consuming Gaza. Shocking images of UN shelters, schools and hospitals pulverised by shells and the steady stream of rockets fired indiscriminately into Israel are a daily feature of our media. The rapidly mounting death toll underscores the pressing need for the international community to ramp up its efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire and bring both sides to the table for dialogue and discussions. A ceasefire will be a step in the right direction. It will offer breathing space to the embattled people of Palestine and allow for a humanitarian relief effort in areas that are slipping into chaos. However, the deeply ingrained problems of the region remain unsolved. As long as the fundamental framework remains unchanged in the coming months and years, we will once again be visited with images of families destroyed in the Gaza Strip and the people of southern Israel fleeing for bomb shelters, as we have seen so often in the past decade.

The international community must resurrect the lost promise of the Oslo Accords. Many of us here today remember the pictures taken on the White House lawn in September 1993 when President Clinton persuaded the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and the leader of the Palestinians, Yasser Arafat, to shake hands and embark on a journey towards peace. Two years later, Mr. Rabin was fatally shot by a Jewish extremist after a peaceful demonstration in Tel Aviv in support of the Oslo Accords. Meanwhile, the jury is still out on the cause of the death ten years ago of Mr. Afarat. It is my view that President Clinton was the greatest political leader of my lifetime. I afford him sole credit for providing leadership on the peace process in this country. To speak somewhat coarsely, he gave a kick up the backside to the British Government and brought all the parties together to talk peace, including those who were operating at the time on the military front. He had the courage to give Gerry Adams, now a Member of the Dáil, a visa to travel to the United States.

Likewise, the only way to advance the situation in Israel and Palestine is by dialogue and talk. However, I place Mr. Netanyahu who was first returned to power in 1996 responsible for what is happening. He reminds me of Mrs. Thatcher when she went to the Falklands to boost her position within the British Parliament. Mr. Netanyahu spent his first three years as Prime Minister undermining the Oslo Accords by expanding Israel's settlements into Palestinian territory. He taunted the Palestinians. It remains a fact today that he would rather stay in power than pursue a peace deal.

The Acting Chairman has indicated that my time is almost up. I do not wish to take time from other speakers, including my colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney, who is always a brilliant orator. A two-state solution remains the surest path to peace for both peoples. Barack Obama who has been a disappointment as President gave a feeble performance in his live interview last Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press". In the course of that programme, the host, David Gregory, conducted a pathetic interview with Mr. Netanyahu in which the latter was let completely off the hook. President Obama is no Bill Clinton. He does not have in him the drive and energy to advance a peace process in the Middle East. Yesterday he imposed sanctions on Russia which are pathetic, lasting only for three months and including the August holiday period.

We need a leader, a human being like George Mitchell, who drove the peace process in the North and brought all sides together with the support of President Clinton. George Mitchell tried to apply his skills and knowledge to the Middle East and that did not work out but perhaps Ambassador Haass could negotiate there.

I congratulate my colleagues, Senators Darragh O'Brien and Averil Power, on organising this debate.