Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin's amendment highlights Israel's brutal assault on the civilian population of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 children. It also highlights the forced displacement of Palestinians, the cutting off of water, fuel, food and medical supplies, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The unjustifiable acts of Hamas occurred against the intensification of the Israeli occupation in Palestine since 2022. From the beginning of this year, 700 people had been killed by Israel. Israel's collective punishment is a war crime and an expansion of the blockade it has enforced on Gaza since 2007. We need a decisive international intervention. This is the request of this House; it is not in fact a request but our demand.

We have heard time and again from apologists, including from some former Ministers and world leaders who know international law and should know better, who envelop themselves in equivocation or "standing with Israel", which translates as "Israel, you may commit acts of state terror, you may kill thousands of children and we will look the other way." In this country we know all about that. The families of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson know what happens when governments look the other way. Irish people identify with Palestinians and we see the parallels. My town is twinned with a Palestinian town, Beit Sahour, on the West Bank.

We hear that Israel needs to defend itself. What does that mean? I do not propose to address the ramblings of Deputy Phelan, except to say I noted that he walked out in the middle of Deputy Flaherty's excellent speech. On what he said about self-defence, he should have a look at the proportionality element of it and have a close look at what self-defence means. The history of Israel's self-defence has been to kill three times as many Palestinians. Revenge is not self-defence, bombing UN-sponsored schools and hospitals is not self-defence and cutting off water, sanitation and electricity is not self-defence.

A just peace requires an end to the illegal occupation and apartheid systems. Just like Ursula von der Leyen promised "iron-clad solidarity" to support peace in Ireland, so too should there be iron-clad solidarity with the people of Palestine. Similarly, I hope the President of the United States will not sit back and allow a situation to develop where, as he said, a small country which "endured discrimination and were denied opportunity" is plunged into famine while world leaders look away. We need, in the interim, to show international leadership by recognising the state of Palestine. I will finish with a quote from Sinéad O'Connor:

How many mothers to cry?

How many sons have to die?

How many missions left to fly over Palestine?

Cause as a matter of facts

It's a pact, it's an act

These are illegal attacks

So bring the soldiers back

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