Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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For context, in April of last year, the then Taoiseach and the Spanish Prime Minister called for a review of Article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement based on our continuing opinion that flagrant human rights abuses are being carried out in Gaza and the West Bank by Israel. We were the only two member states that sought that. This time, 17 member states backed it, in the form of a motion put forward by the Dutch minister. It is the product of many months of very detailed behind-the-scenes lobbying by Irish officials, diplomats, stakeholders and, I would argue, politicians from all parties and none.

As for what is causing that shift, apart from this being one of the worst global catastrophes and the sheer level of human suffering happening live on television, there has been a moving political mood in certain member states. They have said that openly. I would repeat the words of the new German and Austrian foreign ministers, two countries that have been very vocal in identifying themselves as strong supporters of the State of Israel. They have said that while they remain strong supporters of the State of Israel, what they are seeing in terms of humanitarian blockades and increased levels of violence is simply unacceptable and must be stopped. Austria backed the call for a review, which would have been unheard of a few months ago, let alone 15 months ago.

What will happen now, most importantly, is that there will be an increasing level of global pressure, for what it is worth, on the Israeli Government to allow a lot more humanitarian aid into Gaza. What we have seen in the past week has been a trickle. It is not much better than nothing but it is something. Indeed, Irish trucks remain stuck in Jordan carrying aid that we have donated. However, there will be other focus. The British Government, for example, has halted its trade deal negotiations with the Israelis. The review will be undertaken by the European External Action Service at the request of the High Representative for foreign affairs. We await the report and the review. It does not take a genius to expect what will be in the report.