Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for all the work he has done on the UN Security Council over the past weeks. It is also important to acknowledge the work done by Ireland's UN permanent representative, Ms Geraldine Byrne Nason, for her work and the work of her staff.

Gaza is a stretch of land the same size as a stretch of land from Cork to Youghal. Gaza is 41 km long and 10 km wide, with 2 million people locked into it. Can one imagine if 2 million people were locked into that block of land in Ireland? The blockade by Israel goes back to 2007. It is in breach and in contravention of international humanitarian law. In ten days of the recent bombardment of Gaza, 184 residential towers, 34 media centres, and 1,335 housing units have been destroyed, some 13,000 housing units were partially damaged, 230 people are dead, 65 of whom are children, and more than 1,700 people are wounded. Innocent bystanders such as a man who was disabled, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old daughter all died in recent bombings in Gaza. Currently, more than 80% of the 2 million people in Gaza are dependent on international humanitarian aid.

I visited Gaza in 2009 after the bombardment by Israel between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009. In that bombardment, 1,440 people were killed, of whom more than 330 were children. Is the same target now being set by the Israeli Government in the current bombardment? We do not have answers to the question of when this atrocity is going to stop. When will the continuous bombing of the area stop? Cluster munitions were used in the 2008 and 2009 bombardment, which are what we would call "nail bombs" in Northern Ireland. White phosphorus was also used, which burns not only the skin but also right into the bone. No-one is held accountable. That was in 2009.

It is interesting how the US has now vetoed the UN Security Council. We see too the latest arms deal of more than €700 million. It is interesting that a motion is now going before the US Congress looking for that to be stalled. More than $3.8 billion is given by the US to Israel every year. This is where we should apply the pressure, for the US to stop giving the support so that we can stop the atrocities that are currently occurring in this region.

I was in Gaza 12 years ago. Are we going to have the same debate in another 12 years, with no change? Will it be 20 years when we have the same debate with no change? It is important that the international community would now work together with one voice to make sure Israel is called to answer and to stop the atrocities that are currently occurring.

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