Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Harkin, who has five minutes. Fáiltím roimh an deis páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht seo. Fáiltím roimh an sos cogaidh freisin ach maraíodh na sluaite sular tháinig an sos cogaidh sin, de bharr nach raibh muidne in ann aon rud a dhéanamh mar nach raibh muid in ann ár nguth a úsáid.

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate. I believe I have nine minutes when the clock is fixed; I am anxious to keep an eye on it. I thank Sinn Féin for working hard on the ground to get cross-party support for this motion, which I believe it is very important. I also see where People Before Profit is coming from with my own sense of impatience but I went with trying to get the most voices on board. I believe the Israeli ambassador needs to be hauled in. I see where People Before Profit is coming from but I will stick to this motion for the moment.

I welcome the ceasefire, which I actually spoke about last week. It is difficult to speak on this topic without getting emotional. I welcome the work the Minister has done on it. I welcome the extra time given to me by the Rural Independent Group because it is difficult to put emotion aside and actually focus in on what we are talking about.

We have a ceasefire but only after 248 Palestinian people lost their lives, 66 of whom were children, 39 women and 17 elderly people. Of course, I condemn the loss of life in Israel equally. The imbalance of power is absolutely palpable, however. Look at the figures, and again, I am not comparing one death with another. The killing of 12 Israeli people, including two children and an Israeli soldier who lost his life, must be condemned. We cannot ignore the figures and the imbalance of power, however. Neither can we ignore the swift action from Europe and from our own country with regard to what has been described as piracy in the skies.

I honestly read with utter disbelief today that Europe acted as one with 27 voices. Nobody was killed. What happened is certainly deplorable and I condemn it. Nobody lost their lives, however, and yet 27 European countries stood together to strongly condemn the forced landing in Belarus. We called it piracy in the sky. The Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, reflected on the erosion of democratic norms.

There is an article in The Irish Timestoday by a former ambassador and, significantly, there is not a single line on Gaza. It has gone off the front page and the inside pages. That amount of life is not worthy of a comment but we have a half page from a former ambassador, significantly, telling us that the threat from what happened with the Belarusian Government is a threat to a rule-based international order. He actually quotes Bob Dylan and talks about the sound of thunder rolling out as a warning. Significantly, that gentleman, and other men and women like him, have failed to talk about the thunder in the sky that led to the deaths of babies, children, women and elderly people in Palestine. No standing together for that but we can stand together all of a sudden with regard to piracy in the sky and a threat to rule-based democracy. What rules govern the behaviour of Israel? What rules govern our response to Israel when one looks at the background with regard to Palestine?

I do not have time but I will look back at some of the events. I have absolutely no hesitation in condemning the actions of Hamas and its rockets into Israel. Since 2007, Israel has launched major offensives. Does the Minister know what they called it? "Mowing the lawn". During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, between 8 July and 22 August, 2,104 Palestinians were killed. The small numbers killed on the Israeli side were equally unacceptable. The imbalance is clear to be seen, however. I refer to Operation Pillar of Defense; this is an abuse of language.

Between 14 and 21 November 2012, 167 Palestinians were killed in that operation, including 87 civilians. Six Israelis were killed, two of them soldiers and four civilians. Operation Cast Lead took place in 2008-09 and I ask the Minister to consider the name of that operation. Between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009, an estimated 1,391 Palestinians were killed, including in the region of 759 civilians, 344 of them children and 110 women. How many Israelis were killed? Thirteen - ten soldiers and three civilians. Only one side has clearly violated international law. When Israel acts, we call it self-defence. When the Palestinians act, we call what they do acts of terrorism. Surely the least the Minister might do is help to clarify language in this area?

I am not sure why he is not supporting this motion. I would describe it as a very modest and moderate motion. Indeed, I would have liked it to go further. However, as I said at the beginning, I am supporting it in the interest of unity in this small Parliament in this small country, in the hope that it will use its one voice and its moral courage to stand up to what Israel is doing. My empathy, going back, has always been with the Jewish nation. That is what we were reared on. However, what has happened in regard to Palestine is simply butchery and it is unacceptable. It is a blatant breach of international law. Words fail me in this regard, which is unusual, particularly in terms of the language used regarding the piracy in the sky and the action in Belarus.

More than 100,000 people have had to leave their homes. According to UNICEF, 800,000 people have no access to piped water. Infrastructure was deliberately targeted, including schools, churches, hospitals and clinics. The headquarters of the Ministry of Health was targeted directly. We are in trouble at the moment following a cyberattack on our computers because we foolishly did not act in time to protect them. We think we have problems. All of these bombs and this thunder in the sky are being inflicted on a civilian population. Yet we cannot act in unison, we who have a proud history of standing up to colonisation, and say with one voice, "Please, you cannot do this in our name". This is colonisation by Israel. It is illegal occupation.

The programme for Government commits to recognising the state of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement. It goes on to say, because the Government anticipated it would be necessary, "... or in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-state solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory." How long more is the Minister going to wait to protect the integrity of Palestinian territory? Will he wait until there is no territory left, not to mention the men, women and children whose lives will be lost? At what point is he going to come into the Dáil and tell us now is the time to protect the integrity of the Palestinian nation and fulfil the commitment given in the programme for Government?

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