Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I mentioned, at the EU summit in Sofia and Bulgaria last week we discussed the events that had taken place in Gaza and the appalling number of deaths and serious injuries that happened there. As Europe, we called for an independent and transparent investigation into the events and stressed the need to reduce tensions across the region. Almost 2 million people now live in Gaza and they deserve an end to the blockade so they can start to build normal lives, something that has been impossible for them for more than a decade.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has made engagement with the Middle East peace process one of his personal priorities and the Government strongly supports him in that. He made his third visit to the region only last week from 5 June to 7 June, going to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, where we will open a new embassy in Amman next year. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, took the opportunity to meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in what was, I believe, a very frank meeting where he left the Prime Minister very aware of the Irish Government's views on the current position there. As I have stated, we cannot condone in any way the use of live fire against civilians, as occurred on the Gaza border a few weeks ago.

I largely agree with Deputy Micheál Martin's comments on the settlements. Going back to the Oslo Accords approximately 25 years ago, people were enormously optimistic about the possibility of peace in the Middle East with a two-state solution. That was very much led by Bill Clinton at the time. After that, attempts were made at a peace agreement at Wye River with the then Prime Minister Barak, and people were very confident at the time that a two-state solution could and would be achieved. There has since been an effort by the Israeli Government and authorities to create new facts on the ground that almost make a two-state solution impossible, absent mass expulsions from the settlements, which is difficult and becomes part of Israeli politics. There are settlement blocs such as the Shomron bloc, which goes deep into Palestinian territory, Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim and others that effectively surround Jerusalem, thus making it very difficult to establish a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem, as they would wish.

We must be unequivocal in our condemnation of the settlement policy, which makes peace so difficult to achieve. It is a counterproductive policy as, given the demographics, Israel may find itself as a minority in its own territory. There may come a time when the Arab and Palestinian populations decide not to demand their own state but rather the right to vote. They may find themselves at 45%, 50% or 55% of the population in the combined territory, which is something the Israelis should have regard to.

In line with the programme for Government, the Government will recognise the Palestinian state once it exists. It does not currently exist and I am not aware of any precedent when an Irish Government has recognised a state that does not yet exist.

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