Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion. I also welcome the signals from the Government that it will accept it. It will be truly historic if the House unanimously passes this motion, not just to support the ideal of a Palestinian state but to recognise the existing state of Palestine.

The people of Palestine have suffered many injustices, including war crimes by Israel and the denial of the most basic human rights of water, land and dignity. We all stood by and watched in shock the recent bombardment of Gaza, the damage caused to its infrastructure and the killing of more than 2,000 innocent civilians. The Palestinians have had obscenity heaped on top of obscenity over the years and a solution must be put in place.

Since the 1948 UN resolution which denied the Palestinians their state and the right to exist as a people, they have suffered humiliation, poverty and terror the hands of Israel. Much of the so-called civilised world has stood by while Israel did what it wished. The construction and expansion of the illegal settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem is nothing less than a land grab. The demolition of Palestinian property and the destruction of its infrastructure, which has driven Palestinians into poverty and fear, must end. Ordinary citizens throughout the world, including here in Ireland, have been horrified by the actions of Israel and are angry about a lack of action or, it seems, concern by much of the international community and powerful nations.

In 2012 the State upgraded the status of Palestine, and has given it some diplomatic status and a mission here. On foot of tonight's motion, if passed, we urge that this be moved to full diplomatic status immediately. In 2012 Ireland voted in favour of a UN motion to give Palestine non-member observer status, which can now change to full membership.

Successive Irish Governments have long supported the concept of a sovereign Palestinian state, based on the two nations solution. The next logical step is to give full recognition to the state of Palestine. Eight EU member states recognise the state of Palestine, and Sweden is the latest to join them. I hope we will do so tomorrow. A total of 135 countries in the United Nations have already given full recognition to Palestine. Israel, in its arrogance, buoyed up by the fact it has been allowed to act with impunity, has acted in such an outrageous manner that it has exposed itself before the world as a state guilty of nothing short of war crimes, bombing hospitals, schools and even UN centres. In the face of public outcry throughout the world, it ploughed on during the recent conflict. It continues to deny observer status to visiting parliamentarians and observers and those concerned about what has been happening.

Recently, the Seanad passed a motion to recognise the state of Palestine, which was a very progressive move. We can do the same. At present we are clearly out of step by not giving full recognition to the state of Palestine. The fact that 135 countries do so shows we are out of step with international opinion. Unfortunately, earlier this year the Government abstained on a UN Human Rights Council decision condemning the war crimes committed by Israel during the recent bombardment of Gaza. Supposedly, Ireland was waiting for EU consensus. When my constituency colleague, the Minister, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, was questioned about this, he stated that he wanted to try to obtain EU consensus. We should not wait for EU consensus. We should be able to stand on our own two feet as an independent State. We have our own foreign policy; we should lead by example and stand shoulder to shoulder with countries such as Sweden. We should not wait for the say-so or the nod from the EU or anybody else to do so. We also failed to support a motion brought before a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency calling on Israel to sign up to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, despite the fact that we were its architects.

I welcome the signals from the Government that it will support the motion. It is historic. We must move to the next step quickly, and actively lobby for a two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders. We must do all we can to develop full self-determination for the Palestinian people, work with them in doing this internationally, and give them every aid we can at international level.

See this speech in context