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

I thank the Deputy for raising the situation in Palestine, the unacceptable attacks on Jenin and the escalation by the Israeli Government, which I condemn, of violent incursions into the West Bank generally. The last two years have seen a significant escalation in such incursions and violence, which has led to a dramatic increase in the loss of life, particularly the loss of civilian life in the West Bank. We have articulated our strongest concern and condemn the incursion into Jenin. It is part of a very worrying escalation of violence in recent weeks and months. Israel has a legal as well as moral responsibility, as the occupying power, to protect all civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory. We have worked with like-minded states in Europe, as well as Jordan and others, to press for a de-escalation, in the first instance, of the violence not just in Jenin but across the West Bank and Gaza. We are increasingly concerned, also, by the increase in settler violence in the West Bank, which has resulted in civilian deaths, injuries and significant property damage. All perpetrators must be held accountable.

On the broader issues, Ireland is known in the European Union and United Nations as being one of the strongest countries that consistently raises the violation of international law and the UN charter in respect of Palestine. Ireland is recognised globally as supporting Palestinian rights and human rights in particular and, in that context, strongly supporting a two-state solution. It is always a balance as to the levers one uses to try to get the best outcome in this situation, realising our own limitations as well. Suffice to say there is our support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNWRA, and in the United Nations of the recent resolution to hold Israel to account in the international court. When I met President Abbas and the Prime Minister from Palestine, these were measures they wanted us to pursue. We did so and we supported them.

My party, Fianna Fáil, has a long history of supporting Palestinians' right to a homeland. The late Brian Lenihan Snr. was, I think, the first European politician at a ministerial level to recognise Palestinians' right to a homeland. Frankly, there is a need to build stronger consensus across the European Union. While I said there were a number of "like-minded" countries which have strong views on this matter, we need to persuade more within the European Union towards the need for justice and to create a credible pathway to a two-state solution. The real worry and concern is that the two-state solution is becoming increasingly unviable. Israel's ultimate security, which it always puts forwards as the rationale for its behaviour, becomes untenable in the context of not having a two-state solution; in other words, it makes sense that you get on with your neighbours to create a peaceful environment. What is happening in this case is a shocking escalation of violence by a government that has moved, perceptibly and obviously, to the far right, in its composition and there are very dangerous ideas within that government.

See this speech in context