Ms Jackie Goodall:

I want to go back to the comment made by Deputy Brady that none of us here offered any sympathies to the Palestinians. For the record, I would like to ensure that it is known that in my opening statement, I offered sincere condolences not only to all Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, but also to all of the Palestinian communities that are affected, many of whom come into Israel on a daily basis to work to provide for a better living for their families, and also, just as the ambassador did, to the people in Gaza. There are many innocent Palestinians in Gaza who do not wish to see this war. They also want peace but they are under the control of a radical Islamist terrorist regime. It is very important that people actually understand that and the fact that its official policy is to establish an Islamist state from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. We often hear the phrase, "From the river to the sea." What does that actually mean? It means the establishment of an Islamist state from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.

I would also like to refer to Deputy Brady's comment about the deaths that have occurred. I believe he used the phrase, "the butchering of children in Gaza". I remind the Deputy that Hamas fires indiscriminately from heavily populated areas in Gaza - underneath hospitals, in mosques and in private houses. They are firing those rockets from heavily populated areas in Gaza, indiscriminately, into heavily populated areas in Israel. That is a double war crime. I have been researching this whole area for many years and I know it to be fact that Israel does everything in its power not to cause any civilian casualties. All of the rockets that are fired from Israel result in very direct hits, targeting military rocket launchers and terrorists. It does not fire at civilians. I would like that to be put on the record.