Mr. Jim Clarken:

Ultimately, it was to control and to decide who gets the aid and who does not. As aid agencies, we have a mandate to ensure that those in the greatest need get the assistance. It is as simple as that. We have to be impartial and neutral and we have to make sure that the aid is directed to those who most need it.

One of the things that, as I said, I have said elsewhere but I will repeat is that the life expectancy in Gaza has gone from 75.5 years to just over 40 years. That is a drop of 35 years in the past year and a half. It is the lowest by a distance anywhere in the world, and that is directly because civilians are being killed and young people and babies and children are being murdered. That is the situation. It is getting worse. There is a real concern that because of what is happening with Iran and Israel now, there will be a distraction, which may well have been part of the intention, from the genocide and the massacre that is happening.

We need Ireland to continue to be a good voice and to amplify that in all the spaces it can, particularly by putting pressure on the EU. The EU-Israel trade agreement is a game-changer in the relationship with Israel and what could be done. More than 30% of all Israeli exports end up in the EU. If the agreement were suspended, it would dramatically change everything.