John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is widely reported that Israel is the only country in the Middle East to have nuclear warheads, estimated at between 80 and 100. I ask the ambassador to comment on that. Will Israel puts its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards and join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons?

My final point relates to the human rights abuses of minors or children in Palestine. Last week, a 13-year-old named Ali Abu Alia was shot and killed in the West Bank. In the previous two weeks, four other Palestinian children were shot and severely injured. They were aged between 15 and 16 years and were shot in the chest, eye and head. They are undergoing treatment. Unfortunately, such incidents are not isolated. I am not trying to create a hierarchy of victims or victimhood in all this, but I wish to ask specifically about the abuses of children. Children enjoy special protection under international law, but consider the number of Palestinian minors in detention in Israel using the Israeli military detention system. In any year there are 500 to 700 children who are arrested and go through the military detention system. Since 2000, over 10,000 Palestinian have gone through that system and were incarcerated. There is much international criticism, and rightly so. What is the thinking there and can the ambassador justify the abuse of minors in this situation?