H.E. Mr. Ahmad Abdelrazek:

In the beginning, while the attack was ongoing, it was difficult to get international aid to Gaza, but now it is a question of proceeding step by step. The situation is very difficult. It is not easy on the ground because more than 2,000 people have been killed, unfortunately. A more important question arises about the nearly 11,000 injured and the civilian injuries. More than 17,000 houses were destroyed and 29 hospitals and clinics were damaged or destroyed. Some 220 schools were damaged, as were six universities. In addition to the human losses, the economic damage and the people's suffering are very heavy.

Most of the assistance is coming through Egypt. It comes from many countries and NGOs, a number of which are working with us. I recently received a letter from the Irish Red Cross, which is sending assistance through the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has donated €500,000 to Gaza. It is not easy, however, because we have a severe problem in terms of people who will be permanently disabled from their injuries. We have asked Ireland if it can receive a number of them. We have discussed the issue with the Chairman and I have raised it with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. We hope that Ireland can also assist by receiving some of these people for treatment.

In regard to what Ireland can do, as a member state of the European Union it can do a lot. Ireland and the European Union can take practical steps to say there is no way other than the two-state solution. This is why I said it was not enough to condemn. We can condemn every day and every night without the other party responding. This is what we see with the colonisation of Palestinian land. We need clearer steps towards recognising a Palestinian state so that the Israelis understand the two-state solution based on 1967 borders. We will discuss the details and how to solve this problem between us, but the basis of a solution is the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. When we refer to East Jerusalem we do not mean we will build a new Berlin wall. There are many examples, such as with the Vatican in Rome or Brussels, where sovereignty is divided but there is free movement inside the city.

Europe should take these steps. We do not understand why Europeans always say they want to be balanced. What does it mean to be balanced? As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, one cannot be neutral between the oppressor and the oppressed; when there is injustice, one cannot be neutral but should work to lift the injustice. We do not ask more. When we address the United Nations, we do not delegitimise Israel - on the contrary. When we asked to be admitted to the United Nations as a Palestinian state, we did not specify that it would be a Palestinian state on the whole Palestinian territory, but based on the 1967 borders, which legitimised Israel. However, we delegitimise the settlements because everybody considers them illegal. We are asking only for what everybody recognises. We need steps to crystallise the two-state solution.

We do not yet have a response from the US about the proposed peace process of Mr. Abbas. This is why Majid Faraj and Saeb Erekat went to Washington to meet John Kerry to discuss the question. On the connection between the war and the break-up of the Palestinian unity government, when we formed the government it was with the consent of Hamas and the other parties on the basis of acceptance of the United Nations resolutions, the Oslo Accords and the Quartet decisions. Hamas gave the government a mandate to negotiate the peace process. Zionists and the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, say Palestinians should choose between peace and Hamas, but why is he not negotiating with Hamas? What happened in Egypt was an indirect negotiation with Israel. There have been many indirect negotiations between the PLO and Israel. There are indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and it is not the first time. This is the third time Egypt has negotiated a ceasefire through indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Given that Hamas has mandated the Palestinian Authority to negotiate peace, why should Hamas be excluded? Does Israel want peace or not? It cannot make peace with only one part of the Palestinian people. It must make peace with all of the Palestinian people; otherwise, it will be unsustainable. We must include Hamas in the peace process. The Zionists say they will not accept Hamas until it changes its charter. When we signed the Oslo Accords, the PLO did not change its charter. The PLO changed its charter five years later when President Clinton visited Gaza in 1998.

I was in the national council when it voted on the articles concerning the non-acceptance of Israel only five years later. The most important thing is to conclude a peace. They did not accept. I will not make it through them.
The war against Gaza was to topple the unity Government. We do not understand the Israelis because during the negotiations with them, they always used to say to Americans and Europeans:

Why should we negotiate with President Abbas? He doesn't represent all the Palestinians so if we negotiate with him, the other party will not accept that. It is nonsense so there is no need to negotiate with them.

Now that all Palestinians are agreed to go to negotiations, we do not understand why the Israelis are rejecting the Government that represents all the Palestinians and would go to peace negotiations for a two-state solution.