Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We should not agree to the postponement of a possible resolution to the conflict in the Middle East because if Israel or Hamas and the Palestinian people postpone, it will result in a major conflagration on an international scale which will make us very sorry. Does the ambassador accept that is a possibility?

How committed is Israel to the two state solution? We have all talked about this and it seems very simple and acceptable at a distance but when we make on-site visits it does not look so readily applicable. Does Israel see others in the region who are not committed to the two state solution and, if so, for what purpose; and does Israel see that as a major obstacle? I asked the Palestinian ambassador the same question.

Regardless of the cause or causes, there have been very provocative situations in the past and we have regularly condemned the suicide bombings in Israel over the past few years. We do not stand over any of those actions. Does Israel accept that the recent campaigns against Gaza represent a humanitarian and human rights disaster that can only provoke the people against whom its forces are directed to retaliate, which will create further conflagration?