John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On the back of a century that witnessed two global conflagrations - two world wars which led to the slaughter of tens of millions of people - the European project was born out of a design committed to making war not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible. The Europe that emerged out of this search to achieve a peaceful coexistence has allowed the formerly belligerent nations of western Europe to not only coexist, but to prosper in a spirit of mutual dependency. With such success and prosperity comes responsibility.

However, Europeans have differing views as to how this should be allowed manifest itself. Among those at the helm of the political leadership of the EU, there are those who believe that the EU must develop a degree of military muscle and that the EU needs to develop its own independent military capacity. Some suggest that there are already plans in place to send EU forces into Mozambique by the end of this year to protect French mining interests in a gas-rich province. The irony of sending European troops back to what was a former Portuguese colony to preserve European interests is apparently lost on Europe's politicians.

There are those, too, who believe it more incumbent on the European Union to focus on the development of moral muscle. I do not believe that there is any other issue where this absence of moral intent is felt more keenly than on the issue of the plight of the Palestinian people. The International Criminal Court has recently opened an investigation into Israel for war crimes and last week, Human Rights Watch, a reputable and respected international organisation, laid the accusation of gross human rights abuse, that is, the policy of apartheid, at the feet of the Israeli state. The various responses we have witnessed tell their own tale. The EU offered a salutary response possessed of worthy sentiment but little of tangible consequences for Israel for continuing with its abhorrent policy. The Government decided to sit on its hands again and prevaricate, hiding behind Government attempts at deciphering the legal meaning of the word "apartheid". One could argue that there is little time for such niceties when an Israeli army bulldozer is bearing down on one's family home threatening all that one holds dear. Then we have the Israeli response: an arrogant dismissal; followed by an assault on the third holiest site within the religion of Islam, leading to the injury of and assault on hundreds of Palestinians; and an assault on Gaza, with two dozen deaths, including nine children. The EU was quick to impose sanctions on Russia for its actions in Crimea. The time for the Government to sit on its hands is over. It is not a time for words. It is a time for action. At the very least, we need to see the same array of sanctions that were put on Russia being put on the table in this instance, such as the censoring of diplomatic relations, the freezing of assets and travel for individuals directly implicated in illegal Israeli practices, the potential restructuring of EU–Israeli relations; and a restriction of economic co-operation such as would impact on the Horizon Europe 2021-2027 programme.

These are only some of the many actions and options open to both the Government and the EU. Concurrent to this, we need to see the Government take this issue to the UN Security Council as a matter of urgency. We need to call for an emergency session and for the public implementation of all the UN resolutions on Jerusalem and occupied Palestine.

It is critical to note that the Palestinian people are a people marked for complete erasure. The Israeli Government wishes to force them off their land to reduce their existence to disparate groups struggling to survive on a few dozen Bantustans, removing the potential for a two-state solution and condemning what will be left of the Palestinian people to the perpetual state of refugee in what is legally their own country.

The time for the Government to act is now. We do not need more meaningless words. We need action, and action now.

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