Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 41 together.

We are doing a lot on the Israeli-Palestinian question but simplistic approaches do not necessarily work. Ireland and our EU partners have consistently condemned the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, which is unjust and provocative and undermines the credibility of Israel's commitment to a peaceful solution to the conflict. The introduction and settlement of communities of an occupying power to alter the demography of the area is unambiguously illegal under international law. The process of establishing settlements also inevitably involves violations of the rights of the occupied population through seizure of their land, discriminatory treatment and other restrictions. Tactics including differentiated application of planning laws, zoning, military use, creating national parks etc. are used by the Israeli authorities to advance this process under a cloak of legality. None of these measures can alter the fact that the whole process is illegal.

It is not possible to comment on every reported settlement plan, many of which are speculative and go no further. However, I was disturbed when plans were announced last month for the construction of several thousand housing units in illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory in the West Bank, including in sensitive areas like East Jerusalem and the city of Hebron, and I publicly stated my concern and condemnation at the time. The intrusive actions of settlers in the city of Hebron have long been a focus of concern and the recent further actions by the Israeli authorities in favour of settlement expansion can only further increase tensions and make genuine and lasting peace and security more difficult to achieve.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

In addition, Ireland has consistently argued in favour of a clear differentiation by the EU and the international community between the state of Israel on the one hand and the illegal settlements on Palestinian land on the other. This policy was explicitly supported by the UN Security Council in Resolution 2334 in December 2016. The EU has already taken a number of actions in this regard.

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