Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

"At a crucial moment like this, it is vital to be clear on principles - starting with the fundamental principle of respecting and protecting civilians." Those were the remarks of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, yesterday, and I want to put on record further words of his:

Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets

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The relentless bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces, the level of civilian casualties, and the wholesale destruction of neighborhoods continue to mount and are deeply alarming.

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The protection of civilians is paramount in any armed conflict.

Protecting civilians can never mean using them as human shields.

Protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.

I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza.

Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law.

Those words, from the UN Secretary General, should be words we all stand by. Those are the words the Irish Government should stand by and that the EU should heed. Those are the words world leaders should repeat and act upon. Regrettably, the strength of the calls by the United Nations Secretary General has not been matched by EU leaders. In fact, the European Union, which has long championed itself as a leader for peace, international law and conflict resolution, has failed to live up to any of those principles in recent weeks.

This week's European Council meeting can be the opportunity to change course. Ireland must be the voice at EU level that condemns war crimes, regardless of who commits them. Ireland must be the voice that demands an end to the Israeli siege and attacks on Gaza. Ireland must be the voice that says the Palestinian people have a right to freedom. Ireland must be the voice that says end the occupation, the annexation and the apartheid being inflicted on Palestine. We must, of course, try to bring the European Union to that point, but we cannot limit ourselves to the narrow parameters of an EU consensus.

It is absolutely pointless to say, as the Taoiseach has just done, that Israel should abide by international law when it is blatantly breaking that international law every single minute of every single day. If the European Council does not step up to the mark this week, the Taoiseach must. The demand must be a simple one, namely, an immediate and full ceasefire and the universal application of and adherence to international law, with the explicit condemnation of those who breach it, regardless of who they are, including Israel. Our demand must include a decisive international intervention that leads to a negotiated settlement and an independent Palestinian state. The Taoiseach should be aware that in making those calls, he may be in a minority on the European Council, but he will be absolutely representing the views of the vast majority of people on this island and, as seen by the remarks of the Secretary General of the UN, he will also be very clearly representing the majority views of humanity.

This week is an important opportunity to change course. I hope the members of the European Council seize that opportunity, but if they do not, Ireland must. We must be on the right side of history.

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