Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the conclusions of the EU Council meeting and I congratulate the Tánaiste and the departmental officials for their work in bringing about the conclusions. This is my second opportunity to congratulate the Tánaiste and it is very important that our State continues to seek for justice and peace between the Palestinian people and the Israeli people but in the interim to defend the rights of the Palestinian people who are being so grievously offended in the West Bank.

I refer to the reports on area C which currently has a population of 150,000 Palestinians and 300,000 of a growing Jewish population. The Oslo Accord was to have resolved this question but it is clear there is now a focused ongoing initiative by the Israeli Government to continue to build in that area.

It has been stated by a UN rapporteur that ethnic cleansing is happening by stealth. Does the Tánaiste agree with this assertion?

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