Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I welcome both the motion before us and the quality of the Minister's response to Members' suggestions. I have several questions and points that I hope will be of assistance to him. There are important figures working in the Gaza context, among them the personal representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations. When we were in Gaza last year a meeting was due to take place within several weeks which would have addressed the definition of essential items by the Israeli authorities in regard to the Erez Crossing. At that time up to €40 million of assistance was pledged by, for example, Saudi Arabia which could not be spent to finish the houses which had been built and so on. No progress was made as far as I can gather by the Secretary General's representative. It filled me with despair that it came to nothing.

I am very familiar with John Ging's work having had the privilege of teaching him in NUI Galway. He was one of the brightest and most distinguished students we ever had and I am very proud of his contribution. However, I am very concerned at the manner in which his efforts are regularly blackened. He has withstood an incredible attempt to tarnish his efforts among some of the most beleaguered people in the world. Will the Minister comment on that?

I am concerned at the position of Baroness Catherine Ashton in terms of addressing the issue of the blockade. The contradiction felt by parliamentarians throughout Europe is that the European Union is Israel's best customer while Gaza is one of the places where the Union has spent a great deal of its development expenditure. What was spent by the European Union has been wiped out in Gaza again and again, one incursion after another. I wonder how genuine any change in the European Union's position can be. I have drawn the attention of the Minister to what I suggested is the division in the camp. That was in January 2009 in response to the bombing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, facility. I referred to the four countries that refused to issue even the mildest condemnation - Germany, Holland, Italy and Romania - and I mentioned the other group that had taken a progressive position on the defence of international law. The European Union has no credibility nor does Baroness Ashton, if she cannot make progress on agreeing a new Common Position.

I suspect - and this is not a criticism of the Minister - that running through European thinking on this has been a policy of non-engagement. The Palestinians have been made pawns over several generations by different people who might benefit from the continuation of the conflict. The policy of non-engagement has been disastrous. In this context, the extraordinary position of Mr. Tony Blair, the representative of the Quartet, stands out as a particular example of non-performance. When we were in Gaza last year Mr. Blair had not yet visited the area, as I understand it. He certainly was not in residence in the hotel in Jerusalem at the time. His has been a singularly dumb performance. I have repeatedly suggested that the presence of a secretariat to the Quartet's proposals would have been invaluable in at least keeping text emerging at times when there was no performance by the United States and others. The Minister probably agrees that what has taken place in the past 48 hours is a significant breach of the Geneva Convention. I have no doubts in that regard.

The Israeli ambassador, Dr. Evrony, will appear once again before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday. If we do not make progress at that stage we must, this side of the summer recess, announce new actions that are meaningful. We must be seen to act and not just speak.

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