Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have also kept in very close touch with the Palestinian ambassador and with our partners in the region, including Egypt, which is centrally involved in current efforts at mediation. I spoke again this morning with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Shukri, to be briefed on current ceasefire efforts and to commend the vital mediation role which Egypt is playing in the current crisis and to encourage him to continue his endeavours to achieve a sustained humanitarian truce.

I also met last week with the Palestinian and other Arab ambassadors resident in Dublin to discuss the crisis in Gaza, to receive their assessment of the situation. I will continue to keep in close touch with all sides as efforts intensify to end the carnage.

In line with Ireland's long-standing position I firmly believe that the EU must be centrally involved in all efforts to end the conflict and to promote peace within the Middle Eastern region. This means not just supporting current efforts to achieve a ceasefire but also actively addressing the root causes of this conflict.

I attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 22 July in Brussels where both the Ukraine and Gaza crises were extensively discussed. Over many months, Ireland has sought a substantive discussion on the Middle East peace process at the Council in order to review the very negative recent developments on the ground, including the appalling murder of four teenagers in June and to press for a stronger, more active EU role in addressing the growing impediments to the achievement of a two-state solution and not least, Israel's continued expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The eruption of the crisis following the launch of Operation Protective Edge inevitably means a focus at the Council on the violence in and from Gaza. Nevertheless, the Council adopted conclusions which not only addressed the immediate crisis but also made it quite clear that the preservation of the viability of the two-state solution must remain a priority for the EU. We dealt in some length on what needs to be done to promote a resumption of substantive peace negotiations.

These are important Council conclusions, in the negotiation of which Ireland was centrally involved. Indeed, during the discussions I successfully pressed for conclusions which, for the first time, saw an explicit condemnation by the EU of the very high number of civilian casualties resulting from current Israeli military actions in Gaza. I am determined that Ireland will continue to play the distinct and respected role it always has within the EU in actively seeking the promotion of the two-state solution which ultimately offers the only remedy to the conflict we are regrettably witnessing. There also must be accountability for what has transpired during the past three weeks of conflict. Too many innocent people have died and international law has undoubtedly been flagrantly violated time after time.

There has been much comment on Ireland's decision last week to abstain, along with all other EU partners, in the vote on the Palestinian resolution at the special session of the UN Human Rights Council seeking the establishment of a commission of inquiry into events in Gaza. I wish to make it absolutely clear, as was emphasised in our national statement to the Council session last week, that Ireland fully supports international law and wants all breaches of the law that have occurred to be fully investigated. Ireland and our EU partners negotiated intensively and in good faith with the Palestinians to agree a resolution we could all support. In the end, we could not resolve differences over the most effective way to conduct the investigation. The EU believed it important that any resolution would comprehensively address all the violations of international law which have occurred in the region. The decision to abstain was a collective EU decision, taken only after prolonged deliberations and negotiations lasting for most of the day. One day after the adoption of important EU conclusions on the peace process, it would have sent a very negative signal and would undoubtedly have weakened EU leverage if we could not agree on a common purpose to this resolution.