Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

President Abbas is entitled to see an end to and a freeze on the settlements. They are illegal and should not be allowed to continue.

The coming together of the new government in Israel provides an opportunity for Prime Minister Netanyahu to move into meaningful talks with the Palestinian side. However, there has to be a willingness both on the part of the Israeli side and the Palestinian side to engage in meaningful discussions. While I was in the region in January I met with both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas. I strongly advocated that there needs to be an engagement and that this issue ultimately has to be settled by negotiation but I understand President Abbas's position is undermined by settlement activity taking place. To be fair, the position of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israel Government is also compromised by any terrorist activity that takes place which threatens the security of the people of Israel.

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