Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act

2. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following new definitions:

“ ‘crime against humanity’ means any of the acts specified in Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court;

‘genocide’ means any of the acts specified in Article 6 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court;

‘war crime’ means any of the acts specified in Article 8.2 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.”.”.

I welcome the Minister. There are a number of amendments to this section and they are necessary to ensure that terrorist offences that are committed by what might be described as established or governmental organisations that nevertheless are engaged in terrorism are captured in both the spirit and the effect of this law. The truth is that this Bill and indeed existing legislation in this area ignore what is probably the most vicious terrorist organisation on the planet at this moment, which is the IDF, and its operations in Palestine. Current laws do not prevent people from joining a military that is literally engaged in a genocide or gross human rights violations. In the context of this debate, I think minds will turn to the actions of the IDF, but the purpose of these amendments is to deal with future issues that arise as regards armed forces of other states engaged in war crimes that recruit what are in fact mercenaries. We know that the IDF recruits foreign fighters, just as others who are targets of this legislation do. The EU directive dates from the period when ISIS was at its peak and when there was a significant problem with people travelling from Europe to join ISIS. While it might not be the case that many Irish people join the IDF, it is important that, as a State, we make it clear that participating in the actions of armed forces of other states that are engaged in war crimes and genocide is unacceptable and that those who do so will be held accountable for their actions. The failure of this State to have in place any sanctions or restrictions against those travelling to participate in war crimes and genocide as part of an armed force leaves the State open to the allegation of complicity in genocide.

We have to remind ourselves what we are dealing with and why we as a State simply cannot stand by and allow citizens of the State to serve in the IDF or other armed forces engaged in war crimes. In addition to what I think most people have become familiar with in terms of the destruction in Gaza and the killings of tens of thousands and indiscriminate bombings by the IDF, we know it has been engaged for several years in the arbitrary killing of civilians. Members of the IDF are on record admitting to this going back several decades, in fact. They are shooting unarmed starving civilians queuing for food, with more than 500 killed at food distribution centres in recent weeks. They are shooting children. So many children were killed in May. UNICEF has estimated that at least 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza. We should remember Hind Rajab - 335 rounds shot into a car where a six-year-old girl was alone, terrified by her dead family members, while the Palestinian Red Crescent tried to rescue her. The IDF is shooting pregnant women, blocking aid, food and medicine from getting to a starving population, and raping and sexually assaulting Palestinians, including teens, who have died as a result. None of this is disputed; this is well documented and justified in Israel. They are targeting health staff, attacking hospitals and ordering health staff to leave patients, including newborn babies in incubators, to die. They are targeting journalists, with at least 181 journalists killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and we know that as matters stand, Israel is preventing international news teams from even entering Gaza to report on what is going on.

If those things do not constitute terrorism, I do not know what will but as it stands, this legislation does not provide for the explicit inclusion of those types of acts.

The amendments I have brought forward are designed to outlaw citizens of this State travelling or training to participate in genocide and war crimes. They also outlaw recruitment by the armed forces of such a state, so our amendments would also have the effect of preventing the IDF or any other armed force engaged in genocide or war crimes from training with the Irish Defence Forces. That is really important in the context that last year the publication The Ditch revealed that IDF military personnel had trained in the Irish Military College over the previous six years. This will not be permitted if our amendments are accepted. The amendments I have tabled, I would argue, are no less important than the introduction of the occupied territories Bill in the stance this State takes against genocide and war crimes. I hope that the Minister will accept them and that members of the committee will support them.