Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I accept that some countries have a different starting place on the basis of what has been a disgraceful history of pogroms, expulsion and extermination of the Jewish people, but we must deal with the Israeli regime that is in existence at this point in time. We can judge the people in that regime by their own words and deeds. They are involved in maintaining an apartheid state and in annexation of lands that are not theirs. We could call it settler colonisation in the modern day. At this point in time, they are involved in downright slaughter and ethnic cleansing. If we cannot necessarily get support from European partners, we should look to be a beacon of light and at least to present ourselves as having the back of the Palestinian people. I request Government support for the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 or an alternative measure. There is a difficulty in that the State, through its agency, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, is able to invest in companies that have involvement in illegal occupations. That is utterly unacceptable and we need to ensure it is absolutely banned. Sometimes, we have to take that first brave step. Doing so would at least tell the Palestinian people that somebody cares.

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