Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The proposal to have a motion on the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories taken without debate is not acceptable. We have had a tradition in the Dáil of working collectively and in a collegiate fashion to arrive at consensus positions when it comes to Palestine. I believe that we should maintain that. There is enough common ground, some of which the Taoiseach recited, such as condemnation of the attacks and the taking of Israeli hostages, condemnation of breaches of international law by Israel, including collective punishment and forced transfer of population, and, above all else, a call for a ceasefire. We can build common ground on these things but, unfortunately, the Government has not seen fit to do so. I appeal for that to be the approach we take and maintain, which has always been the case on this issue since I was elected. We should not break that tradition at a time of such peril.

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