Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the range of questions on the Middle East, Deputy McDonald correctly raised the issue of the appalling violations of human rights in Gaza and East Jerusalem. The Irish Government has been very consistent and very strong in regard to this issue, both at the UN Security Council and in terms of our engagement at European level. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, has pursued these issues robustly in all fora.

We have supported the collective, united approach from the Dáil in respect of the terrible violence that occurred between Israel and Gaza. We have condemned the launching of rockets by Hamas from Gaza into Israel, which should be condemned and I think all Deputies should condemn that. It is a wrong thing to do and has caused death as well. Equally, or more so, there is the wholly disproportionate response by the Israeli defence forces. The high number of casualties is shocking, particularly the number of children who have been killed and entire families have been literally wiped out by Israeli forces. When they bomb Gaza, given its high density, that is what they know is going to happen. It is unacceptable morally for Israel to do that.

The other key point I would make in respect of what Deputy Boyd Barrett has said is that Israel does place enormous restrictions in terms of access into Gaza. When I visited Gaza some years ago as Minister for Foreign Affairs, I had to go in through Egypt. I was the only Foreign Minister who managed to get into Gaza in the aftermath of the war at that time, in 2009, because I was facilitated by the Egyptian authorities. I saw at first hand the destruction the violence had caused at that stage. This is a repeated cycle of activity – bombing, destruction, then international support comes in from the European Union and others to rebuild, to be followed by another cycle of destruction. It is extraordinary what the children and families have to go through. Without the United Nations through UNRWA - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency - the European Union and others, the lives of those in Gaza and the West Bank would be extraordinarily poor and deprived, notwithstanding the extraordinary challenges they face right now and on a daily basis.

The Irish Government wants to try to work towards an international resolution, and people can have different approaches. Deputy McDonald raised the occupied territories Bill. We are being advised that, legally, that is not compatible with European law, and that is the advice we received. That said, we have supported legal avenues to differentiate between settlements and Israel, for example, by joining a case before the European courts last year on the labelling of certain goods produced in settlements.

The programme for Government also states the Government will "honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, 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." Fulfilling that commitment is something the Government is keeping under active review.

On what is happening in East Jerusalem, Irish officials have been and are on the ground monitoring it closely in co-operation with EU partners. Ireland provides humanitarian assistance, legal and other supports to specific developments to improve the situation of Palestinians. We fund a number of civil society partners that are active on human rights issues which impact specifically on Palestinians in East Jerusalem including in relation to evictions. We have always consistently and strongly opposed settlements and we will continue to do so. We believe them to be illegal under international law.

I welcome Deputy Kelly raising Belarus, the only Deputy to do so today. It is a very serious issue in how it reflects how authoritarian leaders believe they can do anything now and get away with it in undermining the human rights of journalists or individuals who are living in the capitals of European countries such as Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega. Ireland, along with our European colleagues, will introduce sanctions. Last week's European meeting agreed on concrete steps to protect our citizens, including the introduction of new sanctions. We have called on all airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace and we are commencing work to ban Belarusian airlines from EU airspace. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, supported calls for transparent, independent investigation at the special meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization on 27 May. We have concerns for Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega and we call for their immediate and unconditional release. There was a debate in the House on that yesterday. We will continue to work on it. We believe a strong response is required. This is not acceptable and it crosses a line.

The situation in China has been raised. As I said earlier, we consistently raise these issues relating to the Uyghur community and the restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, arbitrary detention, widespread surveillance, forced labour, forced sterilisation and birth control in general, both individually and along with our EU partners and the wider international community.

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