Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome our guests. They made a couple of points during their presentations, one of which is that their job relates to offering support in respect of acts of non-violent resistance. In that regard, I am conscious of the events involving Rachel Corrie. Ms Corrie, an innocent woman involved in a non-violent action, was wearing a high-visibility vest when she was run over by an IDF vehicle. What impact did Ms Corrie's death have in the context of our guests' experiences in Palestine and Israel? The judge who dealt with her case stated that she was in an area of conflict, that it is basically open season within such areas and that proceedings would not be taken in respect of individuals killed by members of the IDF.

What message does that send to people such as the witnesses who are involved in having a non-violent presence in the region? One of the witnesses expressed hope that the international community would intervene. Why would it intervene at this stage? We have seen what has happened in recent years. It amazes me how people in the depths of despair can still have the hope that someone's conscience will be pricked to do something about this. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said that if matters got worse we would probably go down the path of banning the products. What could get worse in terms of the circumstances of people on the ground?

The witnesses talked about demolition. Why would people's homes be demolished? Is it because they did not have planning permission? One of the witnesses spoke about a village that will be demolished. Does that village predate the settlements? Is the lack of planning permission the reason for doing this? Reference was made to the skills that are being lost with the threat of demolition. Why are those schools being targeted?