Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. Unfortunately the response puts blame on both sides for the escalation in violence in the area. This is the typical response of the Government and shows the failure of diplomatic efforts. There is no doubt but that any reasonable person looking at the context of what is happening will see that 42 Palestinians, including children, have been killed by the Israelis in recent weeks. Ten Israelis have been killed and more than 1,300 Palestinians have been injured. An Eritrean national was shot dead by Israeli security forces because he was mistaken for an Arab. The violence is disproportionate and I believe the onus to be on the Israeli side to engage in the peace process. Rather than publicly trying to derail the peace process, the Israeli side should engage in it.

That should be the focus of European governments' and of the Irish Government's objectives in dealing with this process as well. The Palestinians have called for restraint and Palestinian security forces have been instructed not to participate in any of the protests, yet the Israeli armed forces continue to kill Palestinian civilians. The onus is on the Israelis to engage in the peace process. The Palestinians want the peace process and they want to talk, but the Israelis do not. Unfortunately, the European Union and the Irish Government through their stance are supporting the Israelis and ignoring the prospects for a peace process.

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