Darragh O'Brien (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the motion and commend the Minister, Deputy Martin, and the Taoiseach on the very strong line that has been taken. Most importantly colleagues from all sides of the House who have spoken this evening have roundly condemned the unprovoked illegal attack on a humanitarian aid ship in international waters. I am concerned as to whether the Israeli authorities will pay any heed to anything any of us in this House say today.

I am convener of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and my colleagues Deputies Higgins and Timmins are present. That committee has had occasion to question and discuss with the Israeli ambassador and his officials issues, including the ongoing siege of Gaza, which is nothing short of a humanitarian disgrace. We have also discussed with him the continuing illegal settlements in the West Bank and the building of the wall, which is purely a land grab. Israel has been basically strangling any life out of the Palestinian Territories. It continues to ensure that a two-state solution, with which most moderates on both sides agree, does not happen. An independent Palestinian state in the manner in which it is formed at the moment is not viable.

We have witnessed the deaths of ten people with more than 30 injured in a raid by Israeli commandoes on unarmed people bringing humanitarian aid. If it was any other country bar Israel, I wonder what we would be talking about. I welcome that the motion is strongly worded as have been the Taoiseach's comments. We need a full independent inquiry into the incident. As the Minister has said, we also need to ensure that the MV Rachel Corrie is allowed to proceed unhindered. As we speak, five Irish citizens are still in Israeli custody - illegally in my view. I saw the father of one of them speaking on the news this evening at 5.30. One wonders how any father, mother, brother or sister would feel about being in that situation. Worse than that are the ten people who have lost their lives trying to bring some assistance to the people in Gaza who are being strangled with their economy on the floor with unemployment at more than 80%. They do not have the most basic needs of water, education or medical supplies.

In the past 24 hours, I saw the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, and other Israeli spokespeople continuing to defend the indefensible. Should the Israeli authorities not give us the cast-iron guarantees we require on the safety of our Irish citizens in illegal custody and of the MV Rachel Corrie, we should consider further steps, including the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.

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