Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)

I thank the witnesses for their time. In my career before I entered politics, I did a lot of travelling and encountered a lot of problems. I was at the coalface when the tsunami came. I was out in Sri Lanka working in that area. I was also there when the Government there was overthrown. I was on the ground and saw the killings, the lootings and everything going on at first hand, but what is happening in Gaza is simply on a different level. It is complete genocide. It is mass murder. It is mass starvation. It is mass destruction of a state. Let us be clear, this is not a war. A war has two parties. We are talking about 76,500 deaths. We are talking about the deaths of 17,500 children, including 1,500 children under the age of one; 1,500 children who were born and shot before they could walk. This is ethnic cleansing at the highest level. It is easy for us all to say here today that we are all against this, but we have to take the lead. That is why this Bill is so important. We all know in a monetary sense this Bill will have a minimal impact but the optics and the support the people of Palestine need to be shown is simply priceless.

I am new to politics. I am in it months rather than years, but the most engaging conversation I had in my life were the two-a-half-hours in this room and outside with a delegation of Palestinian people and their ambassador to this country. I was heartened by it. I will not say I was surprised, but it was great to see they recognised the lead Ireland was taking and the support Ireland was giving. However, we cannot just stop there. What we do about Gaza will define us, every member in this room and every Member in Leinster House. We must continue to put the pressure on.

When we spoke to the delegation they had five issues. The first was a ceasefire and to get food and medical supplies in there. Second, they want us to continue to keep the pressure on the EU at the highest level and to look at the EU-Israel trade agreement. I know this Bill deals with the occupied territories and it is a tiny factor in that, but it is about keeping pressure and awareness there. The third issue related to the settlers and is important. They are moving into East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank daily and the way they are moving in is horrific. The fourth issue they wanted us to address is the tariffs in their country. The have tariffs of 3% but realistically they are getting charged 66%. They used a great quote when in this room that now they are being taxed on everything by a multitude of what they were being taxed before. The only thing they are not being taxed on is the air. Those are their words. Finally, please God when it comes to this stage, they will need help with the rebuild.

I am all for this Bill. I would love to see services included. We are taking about amounts of money, but we have to respect legal opinion. There is no point in producing anything unless it is legally watertight or else we are going to be back here in six months and will have wasted our time. We need help from everyone, including the witnesses, to see how we can include services. We have one go at this. How we do this will define us. It is a small step for us but it is a huge step for the Palestinian people. I read the newspapers published in Jerusalem. This meeting is being reported on. Let us stand up and be counted. I am looking for the witnesses' help on how we can try to get this through and, I hope, include services, if it legally possible.