Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Chairman and Deputy Smith asked about the bomb explosion in Tel Aviv today. What appears to have been a bomb exploded on a local bus in Tel Aviv, and the attack was very close to our embassy there. It is reported that approximately 18 people were injured, most of them lightly, and thankfully no fatalities have been reported. However, some of the injured may be more critical. This attack is a new and unwelcome development which has unfortunately raised tensions at a sensitive time when ceasefire negotiations seem to be coming to a successful conclusion. While the timing seems likely to have been inspired by events in Gaza, it is possible there may be no direct link. Physically, it seems more likely the bomb may have come from a source in the West Bank. Already, as is common in these cases, more than one group has claimed responsibility including the Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza based group which murdered eight Israeli civilians near the Sinai border last year. This attack may complicate, and may have been intended to complicate, the finalising of a ceasefire agreement and to increase the possibility of the Israeli Government seeming to show more security results. If this was the intention of the bombers, I hope it will not succeed. Attacks of this nature in Tel Aviv have been very rare in recent years largely due to the comprehensive security co-operation of the Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank.

With regard to the issues raised by Deputy Smith, we had a discussion about Gaza at the Foreign Affairs Council. We agreed the efforts of the Egyptian Government and other players to broker a ceasefire agreement provided the best chance of bringing the exchange of attacks to an end and we expressed full support for these efforts. The Council reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire and noted this outbreak of violence underlined the urgent need for progress to achieve a wider political settlement to the Israel Palestine conflict. The Department has been in contact with Egyptian officials to express our support and encouragement for their efforts.

The formation of a more unified coalition of opposition groupings in Syria is a significant development in so far as all strands of the opposition have now been apparently united under a single structure which will give them greater credibility and legitimacy when speaking on behalf of the Syrian people, and is a major progress towards an all-Syrian political dialogue. The issue of recognition was extensively discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. France in particular has decided to press ahead and recognise the Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representative of all Syrians and sought to persuade other EU partners to follow track. However, most partners, including Ireland, have adopted a more cautious approach on this subject and believe it would be premature to recognise the Syrian National Coalition at this stage when the new body has only just been established. Ireland has also been influenced by the private views conveyed to our delegation by Joint Special Representative Brahimi at the recent EU Arab League ministerial meeting in Cairo, where he similarly urged caution on the issue of recognition. We believe there is much work to be done by the new coalition to ensure it fully reflects the wider sensibilities of the Syrian population, and in particular includes a fair representation of women and the ethnic and religious groups which form the fabric of Syrian society. The forthcoming appointment of its leadership council will be particularly important in determining how inclusive and reflective of all strands of Syrian society the new structure is. With regard to the issue of arming opposition groups, the October Foreign Affairs Council clearly warned against the dangers of further militarisation of the conflict and therefore I remain opposed to any suggestions we should now consider relaxing the EU arms embargo in light of developments in Doha.

An issue also raised was the infiltration by non-Syrian jihadists, mercenaries and extremists into the ranks of the Syrian armed opposition. This is also a cause of great concern. It is a grave development which will only further complicate the search for a political solution in Syria, and it increases the risk of the conflict being extended to the wider region. No call was made in the EU conclusions for the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, nationally, I am considering providing additional funding to UNRWA to assist it in its work in Gaza. The director general of UNRWA came before the committee recently and briefed it on the great work it is doing.