Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The European Union has for many years asserted that the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be a two-state solution, involving a sovereign state of Palestine which coexists peacefully with Israel. Ireland has contributed strongly to the development of this policy, which now commands near-consensus internationally. Regrettably, progress towards this goal has been much less satisfactory.

The European Union acts supportively in a number of ways. First and foremost, we seek to encourage and press both parties into engaging in serious direct negotiations because we recognise that this is the only way to reach a comprehensive agreement and end the occupation. Frankly, we have been disappointed by the inability to get talks restarted. The reasons are complex but, primarily, there has been little real engagement by the Israeli Government in the process. The European Union is also active in respect of specific issues on the ground which we believe are having a negative effect and threatening to make a peace agreement based on a two-state solution impossible to achieve. In May the Foreign Affairs Council issued strong conclusions, to which Ireland actively contributed, which highlighted these issues and called for urgent changes in Israeli policy. I am now pressing for a follow-up Council discussion. On the Palestinian side, the European Union is the major provider of humanitarian support for refugees and technical support and capacity-building for the Palestinian administration. Ireland plays an active role in all of these strands of engagement, including through support provided by Irish Aid.

Although the European Union has been active and consistent on this issue, I cannot be satisfied while the situation remains so frustratingly deadlocked. I believe the international community, including the Quartet, the European Union and the United States, needs to be more active and forceful.

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