Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was not saying anything to anyone. They have shot guns, planted bombs and thrown all kinds of cocktails at Israelis as they hid behind women and children. That is desperate. We want to save the women and children. We see it in conflicts throughout the world where the women and children are the targets and the victims of all kinds of genocide, crime, rape and everything else. In this case, whatever way they organise it, people are prepared to force women and children to be a front for them. It is not acceptable at all.

It seems that yesterday Hamas hid among civilians and had knives and guns as they sought to charge at the border fence. What would have happened had they got across the fence? We know the security they are facing into. We know the strength and might of the Israeli army, which I do not accept is necessary. The response is just way over the top at all times. What would have happened if they had got across the border and women and children had been able to get across the border with them? What would have happened to them? They must have responsibility for their actions and especially for having women and children in their midst as cover.

As I understand it, Hamas’s stated aim yesterday was to kidnap an Israeli soldier, or more than one if they could.

They had informed the rioters not to kill the soldier but to bring him back to Gaza to be used as a bargaining chip to get Hamas terrorists out of prison, or prisoners of war as they rightly call them. This is a complex situation. This is a neutral country and we should be appalled by and abhor what has gone on. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade called in the Israeli ambassador today. We must look at both sides because it is not simplistic. It is a powder keg.

I visited Lebanon with Deputy Grealish and others. We heard the stories from people in the refugee camps on the border with Syria. What happened there was totally wrong. We took out villains like Saddam Hussein and other dictators. The Americans, the British and their allies bombed the hell out of the place. What has happened? It is more unstable. My understanding is people of all creeds and religions could practice with impunity in most of these countries under these so-called dictators, but nobody can since. We see Isis with its campaign of slaughter and genocide against Christians and minority Muslims. We never have any debate about it here, but it is happening every day.

We are involved in the rescue of men, women and children from refugee boats in the Mediterranean. We need to understand the history and geography of the area. We need to understand the motives and modus operandiof Hamas and other groups. It is not simplistic by any manner or means. We thought it was simple to invade and destroy the dictators. What has come after them, however, is worse, with millions of elderly women and young children being displaced. When we went to the refugee camps, we did not meet a boy or a girl over 12 years of age. With the help of interpreters we heard about the horrors of what they had suffered. They are confined in the camps ad infinitumwith no sign of any resolution. We do not want another situation such as this to develop in Gaza because the prospects are too horrendous to even consider.

We were appalled by the violence yesterday. However, that should not blind us to who truly is the aggressor. I am not saying it is all coming from one side. Aggression moves back and forth across the so-called border. The Palestinian people, first and foremost, have been betrayed by their own leadership. They have to face that issue, especially when they are in the grips of such violence and devastation. It might take them a long time to shake off the shackles, change their leadership and stated aims and become involved in some peace process, with a third party brokering it such as the United Nations. As long as the Palestinian people continue to be used as cannon fodder by the radical and extremist agents of Hamas, there is no chance of peace in the region. Therein lies the problem. We must stand down the more aggressive aspects and get to the people who might be interested in acting in a peace process.

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