David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would be grateful for an opportunity to place on record my background, as it has been impugned. I have spoken not only on Israel but also on Tibet, East Timor, Nicaragua, Syria, Bosnia, Guatemala, Iraq and Iran - I could go on forever. I am interested in human rights. I also supported the evacuation of Jewish people from Russia and continually supported Israel when it was in the right.

The ambassador asked if anybody stood up and asked for a minute's silence for the victims of car bombings. While I did not ask for a minute's silence, I condemned the car bombings and got a letter from Yasser Arafat condemning them. That is what I did, so let nobody call me anti-Semitic.

With regard to the seizure of land, I presume the ambassador is aware that the Israeli Minister of Finance, Yair Lapid, condemned it. A member of the Israeli Cabinet condemned the expropriation of land and stated that the security cabinet had not even been consulted about the decision. Mr. Lapid stated that the "announcement, which wasn't brought to the security cabinet... harms the State of Israel." The person who made that statement is an Israeli Cabinet Minister. Mr. Lapid continued: "Maintaining the support of the world was already challenging, so why was it so urgent to create another crisis with the United States and the world?" Why was it so urgent to create another crisis by acting in such a blatantly illegal manner?

I may say, in passing, that I am rather surprised that the ambassador has chosen to ventriloquise for the Palestinian ambassador, who is here. I have never come across a case of one ambassador putting words into the mouth of another ambassador.