Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We respect the Senator's position and I listened to him intently. I agree with much of what he said and it may be that I do not disagree with much of it.

The situation has been caused by the indiscriminate firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel and, of course, the extreme military might of Israel in response. Of course, I accept, as has been said, that it is not proportionate. It has been said that for every Israeli soldier who has been killed, a far greater number of people in Gaza have been killed. Some of what has happened is horrific and tragic and it is ongoing. I agree that we are all deeply upset about it. Both peoples have a basic right to live in peace. Here we are all democrats and peace-loving.

As a first step there must be an end to the blockade of Gaza. As the Minister indicated, without substantive peace talks, we are going nowhere and talks will not take place without the lifting of the blockade. The conflict is utterly futile and in no one's interest. I do not understand how the parties do not see this. There must be accountability. There have been breaches of humanitarian law. At its most basic level, they share the land and must respect one another's culture and traditions. That is not impossible to achieve. I refer to the example of the North. One does not have to go back too far when to discover that such respect was totally absent. I am not saying it is evident to the extent we would wish, but we had a relatively quiet 12 July. It is welcome that the Minister was there yesterday and encouraged the parties to engage in talks in September on flags, parades and the past.

As the Minister has outlined, the two-state solution is the only answer and the sooner both sides accept that, following a ceasefire, and get down to talks, the better.

Turning to Ukraine, it is appalling what has happened there, including the downing of the Malaysian aircraft with the loss of 298 lives, among them an Irish citizen. Again, the Russian influence has been hugely destabilising and I hope the EU will be able to exert greater influence on that country. It is only through Russia's efforts that the crash site will be secured. It is appalling to see how it has been trampled over. Without Russian influence, we will make no immediate headway in Ukraine.