Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for proposing this motion and the NGOs that put the motion together. We have had many duels with the Minister in this Chamber about this matter. I have said that I do not doubt the Minister's sincerity in this regard; what I doubt is his policy of appeasing apartheid Israel. It does not work, and it never will. One cannot appease racists and murderers. Even today, the hypocrisy of the European Union is unbelievable. It says it will sanction Belarus. A number of days ago Israel was murdering children. Over 65 children were murdered by the Israeli state. How can one quantify that? At the same time, the EU has a trade agreement with Israel that is worth billions per year, and it is never sanctioned. How is that right? It cannot be right. South Africa was isolated as a result of sanctions and international solidarity because people knew that the system was absolutely rotten to the core. Israel is the same. We must stand with the Palestinian people and say what Israel is all about. It is a racist state and it must be isolated.

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