Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome that the Irish representative in Ramallah will be visiting the community in the next couple of days. International pressure, when applied collectively, has an impact and can in some case halt these demolitions. Unfortunately, the number of demolitions is at an all-time high. Last year, there was a 96% increase and this year it seems to be at the same scale. It is almost as if whatever shackles the Israeli Government had have been thrown aside and it seems to be moving ahead with these proposals. We know from our own history, the history of evictions and people being forced off their land. It was burned into the psyche of generations of Irish people. Similarly this is what will happen in this situation. Visiting the village yesterday, the UN co-ordinator for humanitarian aid and development activities for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, commented that:

Khan al Ahmar is one of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank, struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living in the face of intense pressure from the Israeli authorities ... This is unacceptable and it must stop.

The EU delegation in Jerusalem or Ramallah released a statement and I welcome that Ireland is part of it. There was a motion passed in this House on the recognition of Palestine. I call on the Irish Government to recognise formally the state of Palestine. How many more international laws and human rights violations will it take before we collectively stand up for the rights of Palestinians? How many more homes have to be demolished before the Government recognises it is time for action and time to recognise the state of Palestine? If there is any message at all that we can send from this Parliament to those people who are suffering so badly, it is that we recognise their plight, their homeland and their right to be free.

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