Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Hearts were broken for the Israeli lives lost on 7 October, and the horrific loss has been roundly condemned. In Israel's siege of Gaza we are bearing witness to human catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. Last week, the Dáil became one of the first parliaments in the world to call for a ceasefire. It was an important international signal that other parliaments should follow. The world must demand that Israel ends the siege and the attacks on Gaza and the Palestinian people. The horrific events in the past few weeks have created a new urgency around the need for decisive international intervention. Rigorous international leadership means demanding an immediate ceasefire. That was the call from the Dáil and it must be followed by other parliaments and political leaders.

Sinn Féin has said that we will work with the Government on this because we recognise that Ireland's voice on this issue is important. That voice must always be used for peace, for justice, and for an independent and sovereign Palestine in line with international law and EU resolutions. Unified, we must call on Israel to end its bombardment of Gaza and to stop the indiscriminate slaughter. Together with one voice, we must assert the primacy of international law and dialogue as the only basis for a just resolution and a foundation for lasting and transformational peace.

Does the Taoiseach accept that it is now up to countries like Ireland to take the lead in building an international alliance in the first instance to bring about a ceasefire and to then engage with all parties to bring about a just and durable solution to the conflict?

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