Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 31 together.

The Government and our partners in the EU firmly believe the quartet roadmap remains the best framework for the achievement of a lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The roadmap requires action by both parties, including a freeze on all Israeli settlement activity in the Palestinian territories.

The Government has consistently taken the view that the transfer by an occupying power of its own population into occupied territory constitutes a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The establishment of settlements by the Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including in east Jerusalem, is contrary to international law. The Government has conveyed its concerns on settlement activity directly to the Israeli Government on many occasions. I raised them when I met with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem on 12 July.

It is the clear position of the European Union that the parties must comply with international law, and that no party should take any unilateral measure which prejudges questions relating to final status. The EU will not recognise any change to the 1967 borders other than those negotiated between the parties. In my address to the UN General Assembly on 19 September, I specifically called on Israel to desist completely from any further steps which could jeopardise the viability of the two-state solution.

I remain concerned at recent announcements by the Israeli Government regarding plans for the enlargement of settlements in the West Bank and the expansion of the boundaries of east Jerusalem. As Deputies will be aware, the Government is also seriously concerned at the continued construction of the separation barrier on occupied territory, which represents an obstacle to the implementation of the roadmap and, therefore, to the prospects for a lasting settlement.

These concerns are shared by the international community. At its most recent meeting at ministerial level, on 20 September, the international quartet reiterated its concern at settlement expansion and at the route of the separation barrier, noting that it appears to prejudge the final borders of a Palestinian state.

The most recent meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, which I attended in Luxembourg on 3 October, welcomed the successful completion of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank as a significant step towards implementation of the roadmap. The council also expressed grave concern at the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the continuing construction of the separation barrier in occupied Palestinian territory. The conclusions adopted specifically refer to the situation in and around east Jerusalem, which is having a detrimental effect on the lives of Palestinians and jeopardises a final status agreement on Jerusalem.

The Government, and its partners in the EU, will continue to work closely with Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the period ahead to encourage them to build on the progress of disengagement, to meet their obligations under the quartet roadmap, and to renew efforts towards a lasting settlement based on the terms of the roadmap.

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