John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Once again, words fail to convey the sense of anguish and frustration that is felt not just here in Ireland but globally at the tragedy that is befalling the Palestinian people. The butcher's bill for Israel's ongoing campaign against Gaza continues to rise. To date, we can add the names of UN workers, journalists, nurses and doctors, and children to those thousands of Palestinians who continue to pay the price for Israel's campaign of vengeance. The people of Gaza are under continuous Israeli bombardment. They are being denied the basics of water, fuel, electricity, food and of basic humanitarian aid.

As the armed forces of the state of Israel engage in a campaign which appears intent on eliminating the infrastructure required to support civil society within Gaza, the targeting of schools has become a staple of this attack. Among the 1,000 Palestinian children killed to date, dozens were killed during attacks on UN-operated schools. Israel's wrath is not confined to Gaza. In the West Bank more than 60 Palestinians have also been killed, with a further 1,250 injured, the majority of them by the Israeli military and others by illegal Israeli settlers. It is a stain on our national reputation that this Government has made the Irish taxpayer culpable for Israel's war crimes through the investment of Irish State funds in business enterprises that are on the UN database of business entities operating within the illegal Israeli settlements which comprise a key component in Israel's apartheid regime.

The Government needs to unreservedly condemn the naked aggression of Israel as well as that of Hamas. The Government must push for the EU to take a leading role in seeking an immediate ceasefire and a return of the hostages, to demand that all war criminals be held accountable before the International Criminal Court and to work for a true, lasting peace settlement in the Middle East.

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