Mr. Omar Barghouti:

When Ireland was resisting British colonialism I imagine no one in Ireland would have appreciated anyone from the outside looking upon the British and the Irish as two equal parties. They were not involved in some husband-and-wife conflict in which a therapist is needed to bring them together to talk about peace. I am certain that the absolute majority of the Irish people then were seeking justice. I imagine they expected everyone throughout the world to hold the British accountable for crimes of colonialism committed in Ireland over centuries and to support the Irish quest for freedom and self-determination.

Similarly, Palestinians have sought nothing more than our right to freedom, justice, equality and self-determination. We are asking for people to do no harm. That is not much of a charitable act. It is a profound moral obligation to do no harm. By doing nothing the EU, including Ireland, is doing harm to us. By continuing to support or to be apathetic towards Israeli crimes, the EU, including Ireland, is doing harm. Importing settlement goods and products and trading with companies that are complicit in Israel's violations amounts to doing harm. Doing no harm, which is a profound obligation, is what we are asking for.

This should apply regardless of whether the current Israeli regime is the most racist in Israel's history, which it is. Since 2015, Israel has elected the most far right government ever. The premise of extraordinary sympathy for Palestinian rights among Israelis is not borne by empirical facts. Almost all polls, studies and surveys that we have seen in recent years show an absolute majority of Israelis supporting the current government. They support the racist policies, including those relevant to within Israel and not only in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. A majority of Jewish Israelis today say they do not want to live next to a Palestinian within present day Israel, let alone the West Bank and Gaza.

Again, the point is not to consider this as a conflict of symmetric powers. It is a colonial situation and a situation of apartheid, settler colonialism and occupation. That means obligations are triggered. Accountability is the most important issue. Of course we need Israelis ultimately to agree on a just peace. We cannot achieve it alone. How do we get them there? Is it by using carrots, carrots and more carrots? The EU has provided tonnes of carrots during the past decades but to no avail. Nothing has happened. The EU has forgotten what a stick looks like when it comes to Israel. With Russia, China and even the United States, the EU has adopted sanctions. In recent decades the EU has imposed sanctions on every imaginable power on earth except on Israel.

When Palestinians accuse the EU of hypocrisy, double standards and putting Israel on a pedestal, we know what we are taking about. There is no accountability. That is the only thing that will entice a majority of Israelis to recognise that this is not sustainable. They cannot have their cake and eat it too. They cannot maintain oppression against Palestinians while enjoying free access to the European markets, military trade and so on. No price is being paid by Israel for its crimes against the Palestinians. We believe that making Israel pay for its crimes is the most important factor missing in getting a majority formed in Israel for a just peace. I am not referring to a rhetorical peace that is lacking in justice and Palestinian rights.

A question was asked about Palestinians in Israel. In fact, the relevant figure is 3%. Palestinian citizens of Israel control only 3% of the land under Israel's control. By law, not only by policy, Israel through some very convoluted laws and policies has kept 93% of the land under its control for Jewish development only. This means if a person is a citizen of Israel but is not Jewish, that person is not entitled to the same rights as Jewish citizens to buy, lease or live on 93% of the land under the control of Israel. That is the case even if we ignore the West Bank and Gaza. In the West Bank, 60% of the most fertile land with water resources is controlled by Israel. That is where settlements are growing most.

The general tendency, as has been rightly mentioned, is towards a shrinking space for Palestinians, shrinking land ownership by Palestinians and growing colonialisation of the entire land. Oslo has acted as nothing more than a fig leaf for intense colonisation of Palestinian land, usurping Palestinian natural resources and demolishing more and more farms, lands and homes. This is making it impossible for Palestinians - the indigenous people of the land - to continue living on most of the land of historical Palestine. It is becoming less and less sustainable. Gaza is the most extreme case. We expect the territory to become unliveable in a year and a half. The West Bank is not unliveable yet but it is becoming extremely difficult for Palestinians to sustain any life with the encroaching settlements taking over the most fertile lands and water resources.