Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important debate on the deaths of civilians in the Gaza flotilla in the past 48 hours. I thank Deputies O'Brien and Chris Andrews for sharing time.

What happened is a disgrace. I wish to put on the record my deepest sympathy to the families of the dead and wounded. I challenge the Israeli Government and its extreme right-wing agenda and express my total support for the Palestinian people in their hour of need. I deplore the actions of the Israeli Army and commandos in boarding humanitarian ships outside Israeli waters. That is not right and is an act of piracy.

When I saw and heard what happened, it reminded me of the lies and deceit after Bloody Sunday here. Bully boy tactics must never be tolerated. I call on the Government and the international community to stand up to Israel and defend the rights of the Palestinian people. I would also like Ireland to take a more assertive and independent foreign policy role with Israel with regard to the deaths of the peace and human rights activists and the abduction of Irish citizens. I call on the Government to expel the Israeli ambassador until Israel obeys international law. We must send out a strong message from this debate. I welcome the reaction of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, to the situation and welcome the remarks made by the Taoiseach earlier today in the Dáil. It is important we take a tough stand on the issue. Perhaps we should also consider the proposal to boycott Israeli goods until Israel begins to respect the Palestinian people. This debate is about the lack of respect from one country for a smaller country, Palestine. I would like to encourage our Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs to demand, at EU and United Nations levels, the ending of the blockade of Gaza and to urge the US Government to take a tougher stand with Israel on all violations of human rights and international law.

Earlier today, I spoke to 40 US law students in the audiovisual room. I told them clearly, as a friend of the United States, that I disagreed strongly with many US foreign policy issues, particularly with regard to Israel and Gaza. I urge President Obama to stand up to Israel and defend the rights of the Palestinian people. He is a major part of the solution on this issue. The Israeli lobby in the United States is much too powerful and President Obama should listen to other citizens. We all want peace and justice and we want respect for all countries, particularly for Gaza and the Palestinians.

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