Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The proposed expansion of settlement building in the occupied territories is against the terms of the road map and, in our view, illegal under international law. There is a broad view across the European Union, shared by a number of member states, that to speak with Hamas which has as its principal aim the destruction of the state of Israel and similarly with organisations in our own history said to have an armalite in one hand and a ballot box in the other runs counter to the ethos and understanding of a two-state solution. However, because it is a strong entity within the region Hamas will at some stage have to be part of the solution rather than the problem. Therefore, we will have to find a method for dealing with it sooner rather than later. At the same time there must be a clear commitment to democratic principles on its side and its aims must change in order that they will no longer include the destruction of Israel. We fully condemn the continued siege of Gaza and, as I said, the indiscriminate attack on civilians by the Israelis.

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