Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the Palestinian prisoners currently engaged in a hunger strike, including the concerns raised by the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the health of two detainees. I also note the statement from the UN special rapporteur on 21 October, calling on Israel to either release or charge the prisoners and to completely end the practice of administrative detention. Irish officials are monitoring this matter closely in co-operation with partners on the ground. Ireland has repeatedly called on Israel both directly and through the Human Rights Council to ensure that its treatment of detainees adheres to international humanitarian rights standards and international humanitarian law. Ireland also provides financial support to NGOs in the region which are active in bringing issues regarding treatment of detainees to light. We mentioned Addameer earlier. It works in that space.

The Deputy constantly paints me as someone who is not fully committed on these issues. Where we differ is about the mechanisms that should be used to bring about change. I believe in engagement and in relationships. I believe in blunt diplomacy and building relationships with people who I believe can be instrumental in bringing about change in the future. I do not believe that, in this instance, boycotts and isolation are the way to bring about change in the Middle East peace process. The Deputy believes that we should do that. Many people believe that we should expel the Israeli ambassador to Ireland. I do not believe that we should do that. Severing our ties with Israel will not advance a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians in my view. I believe that Ireland needs to be as influential as it possibly can be in EU and UN debates and in the bilateral relations that we have with both Israel and Palestine. That is what I am focusing on because I believe that we can be a player to a certain extent.

Maybe that is something that will not happen, but the conversations I had last week in Israel, throughout the Palestinian territories and in Jordan suggest to me that people take our views seriously. We are often described as the most vocal country on the planet, not just in the European Union, on this issue. We will continue to try to influence outcomes as best we can. Many people are trying to get their heads around this new Israeli Government. Clearly, there has been a strategic decision not to engage seriously with a new peace initiative, for now, because of the diversity of opinion within the eight different parties of its coalition Government. I know that does not solve the problem tomorrow. I accept that, but I have been pretty vocal in trying to stop the situation getting any worse in terms of settlement expansions, their strategic nature, demolitions, forced evictions, humanitarian conditions in Gaza, and many other issues linked to east Jerusalem, such as holy sites and so on.

I will continue to be vocal, but I have got to remain relevant and listened to by people who can bring about change and influence in the region. If we took the approach that is sometimes suggested I should take, I do not believe we would be in a position to do that. When the Deputy said that words are only words and we need actions, I am not sure what actions he is suggesting would add to Ireland's influence on the Middle East peace process in the multilateral fora we operate in and need to stay credible in. It is an honest answer to his question. I hope to have an opportunity to continue to engage in this space. We have an opportunity over the next year or so, while we remain on the Security Council, to be part of some new thinking and initiatives in the Middle East peace process. One of the things we are certainly thinking a lot about is how we can use our position on the Security Council to advance some new thinking in this space. That is the way to do it, rather than taking unilateral action as a country on our own that isolates Ireland from mainstream thinking in this area.