Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the course of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. I repeated the point I made at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade when I expressed concern at growing tension and increasing violence on the ground in the Middle East. I also noted that if the violence and the expansion of settlements by the State of Israel continue, the viability of the two state solution will be called into question. The European Union agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council last week to continue to urge all parties to refrain from any action that would worsen the situation by way of incitement, provocation, excessive use of force or retaliation. We called on political leaders from all sides to work together through visible actions to de-escalate the situation. I make special reference to the unacceptable position at the Temple Mount, one of the many holy places in the region. Recent settlement activity in east Jerusalem seriously jeopardises the possibility of Jerusalem serving as a future capital of both sides. I will continue to keep Deputies informed on this issue.

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