Ms Amelia Evans:

I understand it is difficult when the United States, for example, has a special relationship to Israel and has not stepped up around these issues in the way that we so drastically need. There is an opportunity for other countries to work potentially in a more collaborative fashion and to speak up and take action. Embracing the opportunity for third party intervention at the ICJ would be a strong message that Gaza is not alone in this. I am from New Zealand. I can see a kind of grouping of countries like New Zealand, Ireland and Canada sending a powerful message. Even if the message is ultimately one of solidarity to begin with, that is an important message too.

We should not lose sight of what it means to speak up, to be vocal, to demonstrate and articulate how unacceptable what is occurring is. I say that as a counterpoint to what is happening in the United States. As we are specifically talking about Gaza, on 13 October of last year there was clear targeting of journalists from Reuters and AFP in southern Lebanon. Someone died named Issam Abdallah. Six others were injured and one was American. This is a fact that has been largely under-reported in the United States and elsewhere. Earlier this year, I had meetings with United States Senators on this. There is video footage of the attacks and the journalists were in their press vests and were shot out nowhere. When the Senators saw this, they were moved and there were tears. You could see that people were moved. It is also not as simple as the blanket statement that United States is not acting. There are definitely people who are trying to push. The more pushing, the more vocal and active that Ireland can be in supporting that, the more this contributes to the erosion. I would love to see action around the ICJ in particular as a place where that could be a clear watermark for others to be galvanised around.