Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the speakers. They are very welcome to the committee. It has been a very important session. While it has not been good to hear what the witnesses have said, because it is very bleak, it is important to hear it and to have it on the record. The committee is glad the witnesses are here with us today.

I was glad to attend the Sadaka conference on Tuesday and to engage on the political panel with so many people there and to hear some of the presentations. At that panel I expressed my own commitment and that of the Labour Party to working towards the Government's recognition of the state of Palestine. There have been unanimous resolutions of the Dáil and Seanad when our former Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, was Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and he took up the groundbreaking stance. Ms Crawley has quoted Eamon Gilmore in her presentation to the committee as having said, "The continuing Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories is at the heart of the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict". A very clear position was set out there. On that point of recognition of the state of Palestine, this committee might take up a position seeking to persuade the Minister to give effect to the Dáil and Seanad resolutions. I take the point that action such as this needs to be taken to move things forward. In the Seanad we will also work on the legislation, which we discussed at the Sadaka conference on Tuesday. I have personally supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign for many years.

I have raised the issue of the demolitions and the settlements with the Minister. At EU level there are initiatives to prohibit importation of goods from occupied territories.

The witnesses have painted a bleak picture of the Middle Eastern peace process which has been at a stalemate since 2014. What do they see as the way forward? Do they expect the Middle East peace process to be revived in some form with, if not the US, the EU or the Arab League as honest brokers? Where do we get the international intervention that would be required to kick-start it or should we start afresh with a new two-state solution? What is the position within Israel? Netanyahu's governments have been resolutely against the peace process and the witnesses have graphically described the creeping settlements and annexation of Palestinian land. Is there any prospect of change in Israel?

Dr. Khalaf identified the position taken in the report. I thank her for that. What is its effect and how can we pursue its findings?

We received a letter yesterday from the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign stating, and I did not know this, that President Netanyahu is scheduled to meet EU foreign ministers in Brussels on 11 December. Are the witnesses aware of that? Will they comment on that forthcoming meeting and what Ireland could do about it?