Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

I commended the Tánaiste last year when he took his decision on behalf of the people at the United Nations and followed it up at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. Does he understand the absolute rage among people within the region when they see sanctions being imposed on Iran because it is not fully compliant with the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, while Israel, on the other hand, is not even a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty? Israel has ignored the will of the international community for decades in regard to settlements, yet not only are there no sanctions imposed on it, we have a complementary trade agreement between it and the European Union. Does the Tánaiste understand why young people on the West Bank consider it necessary to lift stones, their only weapon of resistance, or why a man might believe he must go on hunger strike? The international community has entirely failed them and, in so doing, sown the seeds of extremism within the region. What can the Tánaiste, as chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and part of the European team, do to address their concerns and bring peace to the region at last?

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