Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

On 19 October last year, President von der Leyen made a speech in the European Parliament where she said: "Russia’s attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially electricity, are war crimes. Cutting off men, women, children of water, electricity and heating with winter coming - these are acts of pure terror. And we have to call it as such.” Then when Israel began to do precisely that with attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially electricity, cutting off men, women and children of water electricity and heating - precisely what Israel is doing to the more than 2 million people in Gaza - what did President von der Leyen do? Did she call it as such? She did not. She went to Israel and spoke about the right of Israel to self-defence without any conditions. She gave a green light to precisely that happening against the people of Gaza and against the Palestinian people. Why does the Taoiseach believe that the European Commission and the European political establishment in general has such double standards when it comes to condemning the war crimes of Russia but not condemning - and in fact giving a green light to - the war crimes of Israel?

See this speech in context