Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like an opportunity to ask further questions on another issue, but for now I want to ask whether the Taoiseach has discussed with the other European leaders the currently stalled Middle East peace process. The EU heads of mission Jerusalem report was handed to EU governments in January and I wrote to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste about it last week. The report finds that Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank are the biggest single threat to the two state solution. It finds Israeli policy to be systematic, deliberate, provocative and aimed at making it impossible for Jerusalem to become the capital of two states. The report concludes the Israeli Government is pursuing a deliberate policy of seeking to drive Palestinians out of east Jerusalem through restrictive zoning and planning, demolitions, excavations, discriminatory access to religious sites, an inequitable education policy, little access to health care and inadequate provision of resources. It identifies some settlement construction on the southern flank of east Jerusalem as being the most significant and problematic.

As we do not have time I will not take the Taoiseach through the rest of the report which, coming from EU heads of mission, calls on the EU to prevent, discourage and raise awareness of the problematic implications of financial transactions, including foreign direct investment from within the EU in support of settlement activities, infrastructure and services. It recommends the EU, which is Israel's largest import and export market, take sanctions against settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. This is under our Presidency and I ask the Taoiseach to act on these recommendations. What steps have been taken since he received the report? Does he support the recommendations?

A Palestinian prisoner, Arafat Jaradat, a young man who was arrested for throwing a stone, died and the Palestinian authorities allege he was tortured. This situation was exacerbated because two children were killed and two Palestinian-only bus lanes were launched. There are 4,500 Palestinian prisoners. Under our Presidency and given our history of peace making and conflict can these issues be raised? Has the Taoiseach read the report? Will he act on the recommendations?

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