Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay. There were 600 Afghan refugees, compared with 20,000 Ukrainian refugees. No matter what the person’s skin tone, every human life should have the right to live a life free from war and oppression.

We have turned our backs on Palestine for too long. We have ignored its people's cries and stayed silent in response to the hideous crimes committed against them.

The Minister has been outspoken in the House here in relation to it, but what actually happens on foot of that? The Minister goes to Europe and says he has had meetings at European level, but Europe just decides to let things continue on.

We know what we have to do. The report clearly sets it out. We need to ban all products from Israeli settlements. The Government needs to publicly and openly recognise that Israel is an apartheid state and use all the political and diplomatic tools we have to ensure Israel implements the recommendations outlined in the Amnesty report. We must begin to right decades of wrongs. We can stay silent no longer. The EU cannot continue to support and facilitate Israel's apartheid state in Ireland's name.

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