Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

President Trump tweeted on Monday last that it was a "great day for Israel". The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, declared several times that "we will remember this day". Indeed we will, but not for the crass and inappropriate moving of the American embassy to Jerusalem. As Israeli and American dignitaries openly celebrated the transfer of the US embassy as a "step towards peace", dozens of Palestinians were being gunned down by Israeli snipers just 40 km away. Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on 6 December 2017 and the moving of the US embassy have reignited tensions within Palestine and Israel. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and east Jerusalem since 1967 has never been recognised by the international community. The consensus has always been that the city's status must be negotiated between Palestinians and Israelis.

Monday's death toll brings the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza to well over 100 in seven weeks of protests against the continued decimation of their country. One of the key points that may arise from the events of this week, as others have said, is that the US action may indeed mark a watershed in Palestinian-Israeli history. It may mark the end of the proposal for a two-state solution. A two-state solution is clearly not viable and will not provide a solution to the intense suffering of the people of Palestine. Effectively, there is a single territory which encompasses about 13 million people, including both Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens and around 6.5 million Palestinians, in the occupied territories and Gaza. This is an area that is roughly the size of Leinster and half of Munster, at 11,000 to 12,000 square miles. Everyone who wants a peaceful, secure and happy future for all of those 13 million people must call for full civil and political rights for the citizens of all of those countries. The ambition of this House should be to do everything possible to bring about full civil and political rights for all of the people who live in Palestine and Israel. That is the only way forward. As others have said, any kind of apartheid type solution is an anathema that cannot and will not stand the test of time.

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