Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for clarifying that.

On the matter of Palestine, I know the Minister is on record as being a strong advocate of the Palestinian people but while that is the case, it seems that we wait for Europe on an awful lot of occasions to see what its position is. On this occasion, the position is divided, although I see 98 countries voted in favour of it, 17 against, and 52 abstained.

I ask the Minister, while on the UN Security Council - temporary and all as it may be - to stand up for the Palestinian people. I say this in the context that a year has elapsed since the designation of the six organisations as terrorist organisations. During that time, a joint statement from ten EU member states, including Ireland, said that no substantial evidence has been provided by Israel in respect of designating them as terrorist organisations, yet they remain terrorist organisations.

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