Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter alongside my colleague, Deputy Dowds. Recently, we visited Israel with a group of European parliamentarians on the invitation of the Council for European Palestinian Relations, CEPR, which is working within the EU to further the aims and ambitions of the Arab community in the context of Israel. Our visit was meant to show us at first hand the experience of the minority Arab Israeli population living in Israel. It is actually wrong to call it a minority, as its members represent approximately 20% of Israel's population. As an indigenous people, they were there before the establishment of the state of Israel and would claim pre-establishment rights.

Often, these people are overlooked in the debate on Israel, its nearest neighbours and the conflict in the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Life is difficult for this large cohort. We met them, their representatives and advocates, lawyers, professionals, university professors and human rights workers. From the information provided to us and the direct information we gathered ourselves, it is clear that this cohort of Israel's population is treated differently from the country's Jewish population. There is a higher level of unemployment, poor rural transport and a lack of education. We saw at least one school that was in an appalling condition by anyone's estimation. Its students were educated in a way that differed greatly from the way the Jewish population was educated. Their housing is of a poorer quality and they are prevented from living normally.

The Irish Government must take cognisance of the information that has been provided. In its role within the EU, it must raise the issue of Israel's indigenous Arab population. As the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, knows, the EU has a neighbourhood agreement with Israel. This is the route through which the EU can exercise its muscles and force the Israeli Administration to give due recognition and equal treatment to its Arab citizens within its borders.

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