Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I strongly agree with the Tánaiste that there needs to be a new testing of the democratic will of the Palestinian people and I hope it can be facilitated. Fear of an election is not a trait we can accept anywhere in the world.

The more fundamental point is if the Israelis, in the Tánaiste's discussions with the most senior members, were of the view that they still support a two-state solution, that is not what they are saying internationally. That is not what is happening on the ground. They are every day making the creation of a state of Palestine more impossible with increasing settlements and dislocation of Palestinian people from their traditional lands. I would ask whether it is a sustainable policy for us and for the European Union and others to say a two-state solution is the way to achieve peace if that solution is a fiction now that it is being made impossible by the actions of the State of Israel. I would also ask whether we need to have a different approach by recognising the state of Palestine ourselves now and seek international support for that before it is too late and a viable state of Palestine is unachievable.

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