Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, it was positive to visit our troops. There is no doubt about their bravery and the importance of the work they do, but we really have to up the ante in our political criticism and questioning of what Israel is doing. As mentioned, there are many child prisoners, including Ahed Tamimi, while illegal settlement continues. Also to be considered is the strangulation of Gaza and the appalling humanitarian circumstances there.

Specifically regarding our troops, I presume the Taoiseach is aware that there have been some worrying signs of what Israel is talking about regarding Lebanon. This month Brigadier General Manelis, the Israeli defence forces spokesperson, warned of a possible war, another war, between Israel and Lebanon. In the summer of last year which was, interestingly, the same time Irish troops were forced to go to ground in the buffer zone in Syria having been fired upon by certain rebel groups that are reputedly co-operating with the Israelis Israel was talking about the UN presence in southern Lebanon as being unnecessary, implying cover was being given to Hezbollah. Israel was making all sorts of excuse to criticise the UN presence in the region. This is the sort of stuff that preceded previous Israeli attacks in Lebanon where thousands of people have been killed, including UN peacekeepers on a number of occasions. Therefore, we need to be robust in our criticism of Israel's warmongering in this regard.

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