Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McGrath for swapping around and giving me additional time.

I acknowledge the Minister's speech here today. There is an overlap with the speech he gave to the UN meeting on Sunday. In that, the Minister said:

We cannot return to business as usual after this. That is simply no longer an option in my view.

The Minister said many other very significant things in that speech. He said:

[T]wo million people living in the Gaza Strip cannot endure another war. They have suffered far too much for far too long already.

The Minister pointed out that civilians in Gaza have nowhere to go and he made many other statements. The weakest statement he made was that "Israel must abide by the provisions of International Humanitarian Law ... ." They are not abiding by it, and have not for a very long time. The Minister said at the end that, "We have a collective responsibility here ... to say that with one strong voice." The United Nations, unfortunately, does not have a strong voice. It is divided and it has failed to act. Therefore, there is an extra responsibility on the Minister and on the Government to speak out and lead the way.

Indeed, in an interesting article in The Irish Times, a gentleman with dual Irish-Palestinian citizenship acknowledges what Ireland has done in the past in relation to human rights and acknowledges that we have been more vocal than our European counterparts in our defence of Palestinians and their right to exist. The following captures it. Of Ireland, he said that "though it is a tiny nation, it is a ... moral giant in today's world of fake news, doublespeak and injustice" and he begged us to use that voice to speak out and to rethink our policy on Palestinian-Israeli conflict by upgrading at the very least the status of our office in Ramallah to an embassy. I say that in the context of the programme for Government which commits to recognising the state of Palestine in due course when it furthers peace but, significantly, before that, to protect the integrity of Palestinian territory. If this is not a time to stand up and protect the integrity of Palestine, I do not know when that time will come.

The Minister has given figures today. They are actually out of date. Unfortunately, as soon as figures are given, they are out of date. More than 200 Palestinians are dead and over have been 1,000 seriously wounded. There are, I am embarrassed to say as a woman, 60 plus children dead and the number is rising. At what stage or at what number of children do we use language to mean something, as women, as female Deputies and as a Dáil, and say, "No"? We have a voice now on the UN Security Council and we will use it.

Another speech caught my attention, in addition to the Minister's to the UN, and that was the speech from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine on 16 May. He said:

Mr. President,

There are no words that can describe the horrors our people are enduring. ...

When you embrace your children and grandchildren tonight, think of our children and of how you can honour those killed and [that important little part of the sentence] spare those still alive. ... each time Israel hears a foreign leader speak of its right to defend itself, it is further emboldened to continue murdering entire families in their sleep.

Israel is killing Palestinians in Gaza, one family at a time. Israel is trying to uproot Palestinians from Jerusalem, expelling families, one home, one neighbourhood at a time. Israel is persecuting our people, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. [It] is unapologetic ...

I am absolutely supportive of Palestine. I am absolutely supportive of Israel in its right to live peacefully as well.I absolutely condemn the violence of Hamas, but the violence by Israel is out of all proportion. It is barbaric and it is illegal. It is not complying with its international obligations and is killing innocent children, men and women. It is targeting infrastructure and hospitals. It has taken away the one laboratory for Covid and yet we are still semi-silent, trying to be diplomatic.

In that speech, the ambassador said:

Israel keeps telling you "put yourself in our shoes?" But Israel is not wearing shoes, it is wearing military boots. ...

How many Palestinian civilians killed is enough for a condemnation?

I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, who I am glad is here. There comes a point where a small country, which suffered so much in the past from colonisation, stands up and shows absolute solidarity with Palestine. The people in Gaza are living in an open prison and being bombarded from the air with nowhere to flee to. It is barbaric and unacceptable.

See this speech in context