Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important and timely issue. Like many others in Ireland and across the globe, I was shocked and deeply saddened by the devastating impact of the outbreak of violence in Gaza in recent weeks. More than 150 Palestinians, including many women and children, and five Israelis were killed over eight days in another bloody chapter in the sad history of the region. The loss of life can be added to the litany of tragedies the people of Gaza have endured. Only four years ago the world witnessed Operation Cast Lead when 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including 313 children, and thousands were wounded. The fragile peace between Israel and the Gaza Strip was shattered by the aggressive actions of both sides. No progress has been made since the end of the conflict in 2009. Unfortunately, there has only been simmering violence waiting to boil over as it, inevitably, did earlier this month.

The current ceasefire offers breathing space, but the deeply ingrained problems of the region remain unsolved and in the coming months and years we may once again be visited with images of families destroyed in the Gaza Strip and the people of southern Israel fleeing for bomb shelters if we do not resurrect the promise of the Oslo peace accords. The international community must refocus its efforts on achieving a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders. However, this goal is becoming ever more distant, with illegal Israeli settlements rendering it unfeasible and the deepening chasm between the West Bank under Fatah and Gaza under the terrorist organisation, Hamas. Time is not on the side of peace.

Tomorrow presents an opportunity to take a step in the right direction. The United Nations General Assembly will hold a vote on upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status. I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Government to confirm both Ireland's support for the motion and their efforts to persuade as many of our EU colleagues as possible to back the initiative. The issue was discussed earlier this month at the European Council meeting and no consensus on was reached by the 27 member states. However, the support of Britain and France for the measure should help to add impetus to the European Union's consistent support for Palestinian statehood. It is vital that the Tánaiste and the Government continue to press the case for Palestinian statehood. While Israel and the United States have stated their opposition to the move, possibly in the light of the potential for Palestine to access the International Criminal Court, it is difficult to see how access to justice should be cited as a reason to stymie this potential important step forward. Furthermore, endorsement by the 192 member states hardly constitutes unilateralism by Palestine, as critics of the move have argued.

A failure of the international community to endorse the diplomatic route towards Palestinian statehood will simply entrench the militant hold on the region. Politics needs to be seen to work for the embattled people of Gaza and the West Bank. The peace process needs a spark to light it up again and tomorrow's vote can provide that fresh push. I trust that the Tánaiste appreciates the volatility of the current situation, the changed geopolitical context of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and the importance of the European Union taking a leading role on the issue. This recognition must be the beginning of a restart of peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine with the aim of securing a comprehensive settlement to the mutual benefit of both parties. It is only through an enduring settlement that the events of this month will be condemned to the past. The Minister of State will agree that a positive outcome to the vote tomorrow by the international community will be a chink of light in what has been a dark month for that historically troubled land.

See this speech in context