Mr. Éamonn Meehan:

I thank the committee for this invitation to present today. The government of Israel would have us believe that what has been happening in Sheikh Jarrah, for months now, is a real estate dispute between private individuals. This is not the case. It is the latest action by Israel in a decades-long project to remove Palestinians from East Jerusalem and from large parts of the West Bank. The purpose is to annexe as much as possible of Palestinian East Jerusalem and the West Bank, minimise the space for Palestinians and confine them to enclaves.

Israel is in grave breach of its obligations as an occupying power under international law. Population transfer is a war crime, which carries state and individual criminal responsibility. Israel has transferred more than 650,000 settlers into 250 settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967. Make no mistake, this is a permanent colonisation. It is a re-engineering of the spatial and demographic structure of the Palestinian territories. It is an annexation, pure and simple.

There is no difference in law between a de jure and a de facto annexation. The facts identify Israel's actions as annexation and the facts are not in dispute. Its purpose is to privilege one people and one people only. De facto annexation is a crime. It is now well past time to stand for our principles as a nation and to meet our responsibilities. The focus of the international community on a de jureannouncement of annexation by Israel is a political and diplomatic decision, which allows Israel to pursue its agenda while offering the perfect excuse for the international community to do nothing in defence of the Palestinian people.

What we see every day is annexation and we also see its consequences. The Government should now, immediately, sponsor a motion in both Houses of the Oireachtas declaring de facto annexation has happened throughout the West Bank. It should then take this declaration to the EU and the UN Security Council for follow-up action on Israel's breach of international law. The truth is that the events of recent days in East Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah and Gaza will continue. They will be repeated unless the root cause, which is this decades-long annexation and its ever-deepening grip over Palestinian life, is brought to an end.

Professor Erakat will now clearly outline Israel's long-term intentions in East Jerusalem and the Jordan valley, a particularly important part of Israel's strategy. Dr. Power will outline the law of occupation, how it has been breached and why this is an illegal de facto annexation.