Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss Amnesty International's vitally important report entitled, Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: A Cruel System of Domination and a Crime Against Humanity. The report details how Israeli authorities are forcing a system of apartheid against all Palestinians living under their effective control. This include Palestinians living in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as well as Palestinian refugees in other countries.

The report documents how Israel treats Palestinians as an inferior racial group, segregating and oppressing them wherever it has control over their rights. It provides new evidence of the institutionalised nature of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and how Israeli laws and policies are designed specifically to deprive Palestinians of their rights.

I will reference some of the findings of the report. I do so knowing that I sit in a Parliament where across the Chamber, be they in government or opposition, all parties recognise the findings; we just call them by a different name. Does anyone in this Chamber, on the Government side or elsewhere, believe that illegal settlements, enforced evictions against the Palestinian people by the Israeli state, demolitions, torture, detentions and unlawful killings, as evidenced in the report, are not taking place? I do not believe anyone does but we tie ourselves up in phraseology. I believe the Government accepts that these things are happening and being inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the state of Israel, yet we tie ourselves up in phraseology. This is not about phraseology or whether a particular word is helpful. It is a matter of law, and international law is clear that such a system of domination and oppression by one racial group over another constitutes the crime against humanity of apartheid. If we recognise that these systems of oppression are in place, it is beyond insulting that we quibble over phraseology.

The Taoiseach is on record as saying the Government would not use the term "apartheid" in describing Israel’s policies against the Palestinians. Again, this is not about the terms used. The Amnesty International report provides evidence that makes it very clear that, as a matter of law, the crime of apartheid is being perpetrated. It is not a glib term or phrase. Amnesty International employs international law in the specific context and finds groundings in law. Again, it is not a phraseology. It is about law and respect for the rule of law, respect for human rights and the dignity of millions of Palestinians, which the international community has failed to protect for decades. As we equivocate, we make ourselves complicit in that.

The report by Amnesty International makes a variety of recommendations, one of which was repeated by Amnesty in its engagement with the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence last week. It called on Ireland as a member of the UN Security Council to "impose targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes, against Israeli officials most implicated in the crime of apartheid." It called on Ireland to support action to "impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel." The embargo should cover the "direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer, including transit and trans-shipment ... of all weapons, munitions and other military and security equipment, including the provision of training and other military and security assistance." It seems an extraordinarily reasonable request. If we believe the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation because of its grotesque invasion and the terror it is inflicting upon the people of Ukraine are legitimate and that we moved quickly and swiftly, as we should have, what is the difference? Why have we been so slow to act? There is no justification.

Amnesty International is calling on Ireland to support actions to explore avenues to bring perpetrators of crimes under international law to account, in particular, the state of Israel's failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity and other human rights violations perpetrated against the Palestinian population in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. This should include referring the entire situation to the International Criminal Court or establishing an international tribunal to try alleged perpetrators of international crimes. I fully agree with Amnesty International.

Does the Minister wish to comment?

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