Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My party, Sinn Féin, is critical of the lack of action by the Government, particularly in responding to events in Gaza. The Dáil collectively made its position very clear that it wanted to see some response. That was the view expressed by most speakers from all parties. There is an onus on us to respond to what is happening in Gaza which clearly is wrong. We were horrified that on 14 May in Gaza the Israeli army murdered at least 59 Palestinians and injured more than 2,700 others. The Israelis have since killed a further 121 Palestinians in Gaza, while 12,000 have been injured. These are significant numbers. There was an expectation arising from the meeting the Tánaiste attended that there would be some agreement but clearly there was not. I am interested in hearing the Minister's views in that regard. Will there ever be agreement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the Council of Foreign Ministers that the Minister attends? There is a lot of guilt because of the treatment of the Jewish people during the Second World War. For that reason, I do not think we will ever get agreement, but there is an onus on countries such as Ireland to stand up and do something.

Yesterday there was an escalation of the conflict, with the Israeli army responding to the use of projectiles, as mentioned by the Minister. I thought it was interesting that the Israeli ambassador went on television when the conflict was ongoing in Gaza and spoke about Israel defending its borders. Does the Minister know where the Israel's borders start and end? I do not think the Palestinians know. I do not think a lot of countries in the region know. The Syrians do not know. Israel occupies part of Syria. Perhaps that is an issue that might be raised at the meeting.

I know that there was an attempt to breach the naval blockade of Gaza. The boat was carrying patients who needed medical care, students and people who were looking for jobs in universities, but it was intercepted and many were injured on it. Bullets were fired by the Israeli army. We need to make a strong statement on what is happening. I do not think Israel is listening to anybody, with the exception of President Trump when he confirmed that the United States would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I agree with the Minister's view that US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was disastrous and a negative step, but something needs to happen. Ireland could recognise the state of Palestine. Senator Frances Black has brought forward a Bill, but will the Government allow it to be debated on Second Stage to be scrutinised further? There is also the question of banning goods from the illegal settlements.

The Minister mentioned Khan al-Ahmar, a Palestinian Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank. Do people know that if the illegal demolition goes ahead, it will pave the way for illegal colonial settlement and construction of the EI corridor?

Was that possibility discussed at the meeting? It further undermines the possibility of a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem. Was it discussed? The Tánaiste's notes mention the forcible demolition and transfer of people, which is a war crime. The Tánaiste mentioned Iran. What he said about the interest of Iran in the region was interesting. He mentioned supporting the murderous regime of President Assad. I agree it is a murderous regime. The Tánaiste talks about North Korea. Is that a murderous regime? I imagine it is but we do not use that language. It is interesting the Tánaiste has used that language in this context. The US President unilaterally withdrew the US from the historic Iran nuclear deal. It is reckless. Is there any evidence-----