Dáil debates

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Annexation of Palestine: Motion [Private Members]

 

8:15 pm

Photo of Pa DalyPa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Over the past fortnight, 213 people, including 61 children, have been killed in Gaza. The number of Palestinians wounded stands at 1,400, with tens of thousands being displaced from their homes, according to the United Nations. Rallies were held all over Ireland, including two in County Kerry; one was in Killarney and the other in my home town of Tralee, which is twinned with Beit Sahour in the West Bank. We sent a strong message of solidarity to them. The other rally I was at in the last fortnight was up in Gortaglanna in the north of the county, where four men were lined up and shot by the Black and Tans 100 years ago this week. One survived and was able to counter the narrative that there was a battle and that the Black and Tans had shot the three men in self-defence. With this motion we are countering the narrative that the State of Israel is acting in self-defence, the narrative that there were clashes between Palestinians and Israel, that the attacks by Israel were attacks on Hamas or that it is acceptable to bomb a building and kill 20 children because someone from Hamas is suspected to be present.

We in this county also know of gerrymandering, false majorities and about discrimination. Israel continues to refer to the Palestinians as a minority even though they are in the majority between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean. Israel maintains a veneer of democracy, even though many Palestinians are disenfranchised. The real story is that 750,000 Palestinians were removed from their homes in the 1940s. They were moved to refugee camps and according to Israel, those refugees have no connection to this land. The truth is that Jerusalem was illegally annexed in 1967 and the annexations continue to this day. The UN resolutions state that any actions to alter the status of Jerusalem are illegal. The story is that Israel continues to allow settlements to be constructed, contrary to international law. We know about the Jewish nation state law, enshrining Jewish superiority and further eroding the status of Palestinians, downgrading their language and promoting Jewish settlement. The truth is that attacks that kill 20 children are not self-defence under any recognised definition. The truth is that the international community, especially the USA and the UK, has let Israel away with it. I heard the Minister saying we will do all we can but I do not believe we are doing that. Israel is acting with impunity. Palestinians have little power. Bob Dylan was mentioned. We are standing in the doorway and we are blocking up the hall rather than doing anything about this properly. We must formally recognise the state of Palestine, implement the occupied territories Bill and demand the right of return. We are on the UN Security Council so we need implement resolutions. We need to send a strong message now. To quote Ian Brown from the Stone Roses:

How many mothers to cry?

How many sons have to die?

How many missions left to fly over Palestine?

‘Cause as a matter of facts

It's a pact, it's an act

These are illegal attacks.

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