Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government must step up to the plate on the ongoing Israeli slaughter of the Palestinian people in East Jerusalem and Gaza. The scenes witnessed in Palestine recently are horrific and absolutely heart-breaking. The escalation of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people must stop. Israeli fighter jets have continued to pummel the Gaza Strip, flattening residential buildings and raising the death toll to at least 227.

The dead include at least 64 children. These children's lives have been wiped out. Let us call this what it is: this is genocide. It is a systemic and endemic Israeli policy to wipe out the Palestinian people. What we are witnessing here is Israel’s illegal policy of colonial expansion into Palestine.

The Palestinians are the victims of a brutal expansionist policy intent on the continuing annexation of Palestinian lands by Israeli settlers. The UN said this could amount to war crimes. I say this is a war crime. The international community and the Irish Government have a duty to step in to help end this crisis and defend the rights of the Palestinian people. How can the Government do this? It can start by recognising the state of Palestine. This would send a really strong message of solidarity and is the correct path to move forward. Successive Governments have continually dragged their heels on recognising the Palestinian state. The continued and worn out mantra that the time is not right is just an insult. If the time is not right now, when will it ever be right?

The current violence is not taking place in a vacuum. It is the product of 54 years of Israeli colonisation of Palestinian lands. Since 1967, 250 illegal Israeli settlements have been erected with well over 650,000 illegal settlers. It is based on an Israeli strategy to allow Israeli settlers to maximise the amount of Palestinian land for themselves. This is apartheid in practice. In 2020, 848 Palestinian homes were destroyed. This affected 6,380 Palestinians, including 534 children. We can sometimes get lost in statistics but these are real people. These 534 children have hopes and dreams like our own children. Up to 30 April this year, just over two weeks ago, 316 buildings had been destroyed. This represents an increase of 108% on the figures from 2020. The human cost of this is catastrophic. Thousands are left homeless. Very often, following the destruction of schools, young children are forced to travel 14 or 15 miles to schools and often on those journeys they have to pass by settled colonies where they are subjected to abuse and attacks.

The Minister could also expel the Israeli ambassador. This would send a very clear message from the people of Ireland, who themselves have a history of colonial and genocidal policies inflicted on them by a foreign oppressor intent on grabbing land for illegal settlers. He can also immediately support and adopt the occupied territories Bill, in line with Ireland’s obligations under international law. As individuals we can boycott Israeli products when doing our weekly shops. Quite simply, we can check the barcode and if the first 3 digits are 729 leave it on the shelf. I extend my solidarity to the people of Palestine.

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