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

The nightmare for the Palestinian people continues. We know what Gaza is. It is an open prison and has been for many years. We know what the Palestinian people have been dealing with in Gaza. We also know what they have been dealing with lately. We know that no hope is being provided to these people. We know at this point in time there is nowhere to run. We are talking about 2.3 million people, two thirds of whom have been internally displaced. That sounds like a reasonable phrase but the reality is that they have been forced to run. This is without the resources they need. There is no food, there is a lack of water and there is no fuel. The fact is that it is okay because Israel says it always aims to make sure it limits the numbers of civilian casualties because it is very good at sending text messages. Well, none of this is in any way good enough.

It is not okay for us to say we cannot get the powers that be at European Council meetings to move. I accept that some countries for obvious reasons have guilt regarding the nightmare that was the Holocaust for the Jewish people and what went before it but that is not sufficient to give a green light for what is modern-day ethnic cleansing and genocide. It is in no way acceptable. If we cannot get some of our EU partners to move, surely we can work with those that are willing to put their names forward and call out what is happening; that it is ethnic cleansing and genocide.

We also know at this point in time that while the Israelis are doing this, we do not know their final plan is. We hear what is in the public domain and it is frightening. The fact is the European Commission and Ursula von der Leyen and the likes of Joe Biden in particular provided Israel with the initial green light and cover that allowed for a disgraceful free run so that Israel knew it would have no difficulty doing what it has done in bombing from the air. We now see 10,000 Palestinian deaths. It is beyond contemplation because we thought we understood what the rules were from an Israeli point of view.

This is Benjamin Netanyahu, who sold himself to the Israeli people on the basis that he was the guy who could provide security but who led to the greatest intelligence failure since the Yom Kippur War when Israel did not see Arab armies coming. At that time, Moshe Dayan was forced to resign but there is one thing that can be said about Benjamin Netanyahu. He is an absolute charlatan and chancer even if you remove the political context. He is one of these populist strongmen. He has in no way been called out. Some of his partners in government are racists and supremacists. He has been completely against the two-state solution. He has been willing at times to back Hamas - this is in the public domain - in using it as an asset. He is quite happy that there are two power blocs in Palestine but it is all about ensuring the elimination of the possibility of a two-state solution.

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