Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have seen the various reports to which Deputy Crowe referred. We must be conscious of the fact that in the background, we need to get a renewed effort at a peace settlement moving again. I am encouraged by the fact that the United States has now re-engaged with that. President Obama has been to Israel recently and the Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, has visited on a number of occasions. I have had discussions with Mr. Kerry on the approach being taken to the issue. It is important that there is a co-ordinated EU-USA approach to the issue. It is a case of getting peace talks moving again. At the same time, we must be mindful of the situation on the ground. The continuation of the building of settlements in the West Bank will make the two-State solution physically impossible. That is why it is so critically important that the settlements are halted.

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