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

I take Deputy Gannon's earlier point that apartheid is more than language. Using phrases such as "call it for what it is" is fairly straightforward to do. We could remove ourselves from the entire engagement and just call it what we think it is. Would it advance the situation? That is the call. We have continually remained engaged and that engagement is important. With regard to the work that UNRWA does in Gaza, the occupied territories and refugee camps in Jordan and elsewhere, Ireland stands strongly to support that which supports Palestinians in very difficult situations.

Even though some member states might not agree with Ireland's position, coming from where we are coming from they respect us as a country in terms of our perspective on human rights and compliance with international law. This carries some weight in the broader area of policies on a swathe of issues that arise in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is a balance and a judgment call in terms of the particular track that one wants to devise as a Government in terms of how we engage on the issue. We are engaging on the issue with all parties involved with a view to seeing whether we can get this on a proper track with others towards a two-state solution. We are not giving up on a two-state solution. This is one of the outcomes of the visit. An issue discussed with many interlocutors was the viability of a two-state solution. We have not given up on that.

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