Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I am grateful for the Minister's reply. Anyone must conclude that far from there being any element of trust or good faith going into these talks, it is singularly absent, as the events that have taken place prove. I might put a number of questions to the Minister. In respect of his statement, which I accept, to the effect that the issues of borders and settlements are two huge areas, I note that one of the parties in government in the Knesset has announced that it will require of the 20% of Palestinians who live in the state of Israel that they take an oath of loyalty to the Jewish state of Israel. This is a fact. Again, with regard to the statement that it is not just that the settlements - I appreciate the Minister's emphasis - are in themselves illegal. There also are the evictions that are taking place in East Jerusalem, something that has heightened in recent times. Moreover, the extension of the settlements across the Jordan Valley has the effect, to put it plainly, effectively of dividing the West Bank into cantons, thereby making matters almost impossible.

There is nothing to sustain the talks in practical terms such as, for example, a permanent secretariat that might take on the issues of settlements, evictions, borders, the future of Jerusalem and so on. Such an initiative on the ground would function as a conduit to the opinions of the Foreign Ministers of the Arab states, which might ensure continuity past the breakdown of a particular set of talks.

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