Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, has consistently made clear the Government's strong criticism of and opposition to Israeli settlements and settlement expansion, which are illegal under international law and constitute a major obstacle to peace. Settlements and related policies in area C seem designed to drive Palestinians off the bulk of the land they occupy and to crowd them into the cities under Palestinian Authority control. Settlements establishment and the policies implemented to support them inherently involve continual injustices, hardships and humiliations for Palestinians. They are perhaps the main source of tension between the two communities on the ground. The Deputies, through the analogies they have used, have made very clear the injustices involved in these arrangements. Deputy Lawlor spoke about the difficulties in someone coming to approach me.

Deputy Nolan's use of the analogy of Galway made clear the injustices involved in these arrangements.

The Israeli Government and Israeli public opinion are in no doubt about the Irish Government's views on this issue. The city of Hebron presents a showcase or microcosm of these issues in action. Hebron is the largest city fully in the West Bank, with 170,000 Palestinian inhabitants and an additional 7,000 Israeli settlers in a large settlement on its outskirts. In the centre of this ancient city some 850 settlers have established a number of small scattered settlements around the old town. In many cases, settlers simply occupied buildings and the new settlement was subsequently recognised by the Israeli authorities.

To protect the settlers and their rights a large force of Israeli soldiers is also based in the centre of Hebron. Palestinian residents have been subject to extensive movement controls, as the Deputies noted, and are excluded entirely from the main street and other areas in the interests of the small minority of settlers in their midst. As a result, many Palestinian businesses in the old city have closed down.

In March, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling, anticipated for several months, on the purchase by Israeli settlers of a house in Hebron known as al-Rajabi house or the house of contention. The ruling upheld a 2012 decision by the Jerusalem District Court that the purchase of the house was legal and settlers should be allowed to resume living there. This house, which is a large apartment building, would constitute the nucleus for a new settlement in Hebron and become the first settlement established in the city since the 1980s. It would inevitably be accompanied by new security checkpoints and closures and developing pressure on Palestinian residents. There is a strong possibility that its occupation would lead to further tension and violence in the area. When clashes occur the response is always to further restrict and exclude Palestinian residents.

As the Deputies noted, the next stage in the process is for the Israeli defence Minister to authorise and permit the transaction. Until then, the settlers continue to be prohibited from entering the building. The Deputies asked me to elaborate on the Irish position on this matter. Ireland calls on the Israeli defence Minister not to grant the purchase permit for the building given the very sensitive political nature of the settlement.

Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in direct negotiations, which are intended to decide within months all questions about the future of settlements. Ongoing settlement announcements such as this have clearly been damaging to confidence in the peace process. Israel has regularly announced new settlement units since the talks began, including significant plans for more than 2,300 new housing units in six West Bank settlements announced in March.

On the European Union position, in a statement on 21 March, High Representative Ashton strongly condemned the latest settlement announcement on behalf of the EU. She stated that such actions undermine the current negotiations and, as a consequence, the two-state solution and urged the Israeli authorities to reconsider their plans and reverse their decision. Ireland fully supports this position.

More broadly, the Tánaiste has also called for the international community to be more forceful in its response to continued settlement expansion. Ireland has supported all measures by the European Union to increase pressure on the Israeli Government on the issue of settlements and the Government will continue to be active on this issue.

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