Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Can I just say, first and foremost, that Prime Minister Lapid is personally committed to a two-state solution. I met him a number of times before he became Prime Minister, when he was foreign minister. Certainly, it is my view that he is committed to that outcome. Unfortunately, the government that he has been part of for the last number of years has allowed an awful lot of actions on the ground which make that achievement much more difficult, and has created increased tension between Israelis and Palestinians, some of which I outlined in my initial response to the Deputy. The aspirations and the words are welcome, but the actions that have taken place are contrary to that. I think there are potentially a number of reasons for that. The current government in Israel is made up of very different factions, which make compromise and consensus in relation to how to achieve a two-state solution very difficult to achieve. There will be elections in the coming weeks in Israel. Certainly, after that election, I hope we will be able to make real progress in a step towards a peace process that can help in achieving a two-state solution, but at the moment we seem to be a long way from there.

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