Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Government's acceptance of the motion. It has risen above itself and political strategy. I also welcome the fact that the Government has recognised the greater good by supporting the passage of this motion.

As quickly as possible, let us address the "whataboutary" that we consistently hear from those who are pro-Israeli and who lobby on and engage in this debate. I fully accept the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state. I fully accept its people's right to defend themselves, but only within the confines of internationally accepted norms, particularly in the conduct in war. As a sovereign state, Israel has a solemn duty to respect and honour international law as well as the human rights and, in particular, civilian rights of populations in the region. We should take this opportunity to condemn out of hand the attacks on civilian targets - hospitals, ambulances, schools and homes. These must stop, as we cannot have the horrific practice of imposing pain in what can be best described as the collective punishment of the most vulnerable people in the region as a consequence of the evils done by a small minority.

In line with this philosophy, I condemn terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and call on Hamas to take whatever action is necessary to reflect on the efforts being made by the international community, including Ireland, and to step up to the mark where the lives of innocents in Israel are concerned. The Palestinian leadership must condemn this violence and rise above the brute force approach taken by its opponents. It must also respect sovereign responsibility and conform to the human rights standards to which sovereign states are bound.

The Palestinian people are a proud people with a long history, a rich culture and a strong sense of identity. Undoubtedly, they are a stronger people as a consequence of the suffering and misery they have had to endure. In the 1980s under a Fianna Fáil-led Government, Ireland became the first EU member state to declare that an essential feature of any resolution to the conflict in the Middle East had to be a two-state strategy. In the past decade, however, and especially this summer, Israel has sought to establish a new set of facts through a new type of engagement of violence on the ground. The future of any Palestinian state is only sustainable if the population has a chance to establish itself and develop a society, but that would not be in Israel's strategic interests.

We cannot deny the dignity of Palestinian individuals or their families and children who are being slaughtered by a military regime in pursuit of an unclear and unhealthy cause. Even now, the Israeli Government is attempting to colonise east Jerusalem. The Minister of State should take whatever action is necessary to outline to Israel's Dublin-based diplomatic unit our protest over Palestine's right to recognise that area of Jerusalem as its future capital.

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