Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept what the Deputy is saying in respect of where we are going or where the Israeli Government is going here. It has been our long-standing position that policies and practices of successive Israeli governments relating to illegal settlements and their expansion, as well as expulsions, forced transfers and demolitions, undermine prospects for a two-state solution and are a major obstacle to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.

The continued establishment and expansion of settlements is a violation of international law and is absolutely unacceptable. It is deeply concerning that the stated intentions of this Israeli Government continue to show blatant disregard for the clear international consensus around this issue. It is absolutely imperative that the international community supports the Palestinian Authority in its recourse to legal and political responses to the occupation.

In this regard, I welcome that the UN Security Council adopted by consensus on 20 February a formal presidential statement expressing its opposition to "all unilateral measures that impede peace, including, inter alia, Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, confiscation of Palestinians’ land, and the 'legalisation' of settlement outposts, demolition of Palestinians’ homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians". We are very concerned at the high level of civilian casualties in the occupied Palestinian territory. As I said earlier, Israel has an obligation under international law, as an occupying power, to protect civilians. It must adhere to such international law. As I said, I have had regular engagement with international partners on this issue, the most recent being with the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ayman Safadi.

Earlier this month, the 27 member states of the EU issued a joint statement that made clear that Israel must stop settlement expansion, prevent settler violence and ensure the perpetrators are held accountable. We raised this issue again at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels yesterday and urged all EU colleagues to keep the issue high on the agenda. We remain committed to supporting all efforts in terms of a just and lasting two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, on the basis of international law and agreed international parameters.

The situation is as Deputy Howlin articulated. The current policy of this Israeli Government in my view seems to be to abandon the two-state solution or make a two-state solution unviable and impossible in favour of the creation of a single state. It denies that and says that is not its intention. That single state cannot be an apartheid state either. There would have to be equality of treatment for all civilians.

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