Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let me be clear and unambiguous. There are no rights and no wrongs and no winners or losers when it comes to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. There is no defence for violence, bombings, indiscriminately targeting civilians or the calculated murder of women and children. The actions of Hamas are abhorrent and cannot be defended by any fair-minded or rational democracy. We were horrified by the murder of Irish nationals Kim Damti and Emily Hand.

However, we need to separate Hamas from the barbarism now being inflicted on the Palestinian people. They have been deprived of food, water, electricity, medical supplies and so on. They have been robbed of much. They have been deprived of hope, all while Israeli missiles and attacks continue to rain down on them. Many western democracies, including Government leaders in this House, clung to a wafer thin defence that Israel was entitled to defend its territory. However, its actions in recent days have gone far beyond acceptable defence. It is important that the Israeli ambassador and Israeli people realise that their actions - nothing short of wanton carnage and destruction - make it increasingly hard to have a neutral position on the situation.

This cycle of violence will see thousands die needlessly on both sides and change little in this geopolitical sphere. Two diametrically opposed peoples will still have to live on the same small parcel of land, each with their own historical, emotional and justifiable claims on this piece of land. As a country, we have always taken Israel to task on its policy of evictions and demolitions. We are steadfast in our programme for Government commitment to act as an honest broker committed to building relations with the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government. Crucially, the pursuit of a two-state solution remains an integral part of our foreign policy.

I do not expect the Israeli Government to take much account of my voice, but if I could give voice to 40,000 people from County Longford and many others across Ireland this evening, it would be to seek an immediate and unconditional Israeli ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to ensure aid agencies get much-needed foodstuffs and supplies to the beleaguered Palestinian people.

We will not align with the current Israeli campaign of mindless retribution, which is shocking in its barbarism and senseless violence and reaches far beyond the bounds of acceptable warfare. The message for the Palestinian authorities is just as clear. The heinous actions of Hamas and related factions have no place in modern society and Hamas needs to be taken to task. Kidnapping is reprehensible and all detainees must be released immediately and without condition. For Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths, the Middle East is the cradle of civilisation, but this evening it is drenched in needless bloodletting and it needs to stop.

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