Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Smith. The hope that Donald Trump is not going to follow through is looking like a faint hope. Let us consider what Trump has done in recent days. He has signed executive orders relating to the Dakota access pipeline, for example, and he has made statements on the wall and immigrants. They may well follow through with this.

Does the Minister not agree that moving the embassy is not simply of symbolic value? It is about obliterating any chance or hope of a Palestinian state. That is what it is about and that is the message it sends. It forms part of the strategy of the Israeli elite establishment on settlements, the populations of which have doubled since 1993. It has led to the destruction of 15,000 Palestinian homes since 1993. It is to put Palestinians effectively into Bantustans, which are like little Gaza territories dotted throughout historical Palestine. One of the first messages of the Government to Trump should convey opposition to this.

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