Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to express my condolences to the family and colleagues of Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank earlier this month. She was shot in the face by an Israeli soldier because of the job she was doing in shining a spotlight on the genocidal actions of Israel. The Israeli spin machine started immediately. Israel’s Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, has lied. Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, has lied and the Israeli army has lied. Bennett said that the Palestinians did it. Lapid said that Israel wants to help the Palestinians get to the truth. The same Lapid once said:

We need to get the Palestinians out of our lives. What we have to do is build a high wall and get them out of our sight.

The Israeli army said its soldiers do not target journalists. Apparently, the 16 Palestinian journalists who have perished over the last 30 years were unlucky. We need to remember that they were not targets but were unfortunate. We saw the disgraceful behaviour by the Israeli army at Shireen Abu Akleh's funeral. It was reminiscent of the North of Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s. It was behaviour designed to remind the Palestinian people of their place. Surely Israel can see that its actions are provoking a violent reaction.

I would also like to express my condolences to the families of Irish cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and his Ukrainian colleague Oleksandra Kuvshynova who were killed in Kyiv in March. Journalists are often referred to as the fourth estate. They help us to see through the propaganda of war and to see the actions of warmongering nations. The international community continues to talk out of both sides of its mouth. One person’s aggressor is another’s friendly nation. Most ordinary people see through this. There must be an independent investigation.

The Israeli Government’s attitude is in total contrast to that of the Ukrainian Government, which yesterday sentenced a Russian soldier to life for the murder of a civilian. The message we should be sending to rogue states is that there must be consequences. Instead, we have the likes of Israel and Britain, whose soldiers act with impunity. I refer to soldiers like lance corporal David James Cleary, better known as soldier F, who is accused of murdering civilians on Bloody Sunday. The families of these civilians are waiting over 50 years for justice. Britain must have used up the alphabet at this stage with soldiers hiding behind letters.It is almost four years since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and still there is no justice for his family. There must be consequences, it must happen, and the truth must be protected.

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