Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this very important issue. I think any of us who turned on the news last night will have seen the scenes from Jenin and will have been deeply concerned at the violence that is happening in Israel and on the West Bank. We are, as I said earlier, deeply concerned by the level of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories this year. That includes Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, drone and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, including the killings of civilians in Tel Aviv today, and, in particular, the incursion into Jenin by the Israel Defense Forces, which began on Monday. Such operations are increasingly involving live fire and resulting in significant casualties. The protection of civilians is paramount, as are the responsibilities of Israel as an occupying power.

As always, we stand ready to support all efforts to achieve a just and lasting two-state solution based on international law and internationally agreed parameters. The Tánaiste discusses this issue regularly with his international counterparts and we make our views known to the Israeli Government. It is fair to say that Ireland has been one of the most active countries when it comes to raising concerns about Palestine and the treatment of Palestinians by Israel. We did so during our time on the UN Security Council. In that two-year term, barely a month would have gone by when we did not raise issues that related to Israel and Palestine. We have very strong contact with the NGOs and UN agencies on the ground. Again, it would be widely acknowledged by Palestinians and by NGOs that of all the 27 countries in the European Union, Ireland has been among the most supportive of their rightful demands for peace and for a state of their own.

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