Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There must be consequences for Israel's actions. Let us be clear: the reason Israel is committing the most grotesque crimes against humanity is that it has been allowed to murder Palestinian people and impose an apartheid regime without consequences. The world has stood by and let this happen. The world did not impose sanctions.

Prior to 7 October, Israeli forces were already murdering Palestinian children without consequences, without sanctions. Every month I get a postcard from Defense for Children International - Palestine. On each postcard is a picture of a child who was murdered by Israel. The boy on the postcard I am holding up is 16-year-old Hasan, who was shot dead by an Israeli sniper on his way to give blood - no consequences, no sanctions. The boy on this next postcard is 14-year-old Omar, shot dead by Israeli forces as he cycled his bike in front of his parents' shop - no consequences, no sanctions. As this year progressed, I was getting single cards with multiple images of children who were murdered by Israeli forces. Over five days in May of this year, seven children died as Israel bombarded Gaza. Mayar, aged ten; Ali, aged eight; Layan, aged ten; Yazen, aged 16; Eman, aged 17; and Tamin, aged five, were all brutally murdered by Israeli forces - again, no consequences, no sanctions. All those murders took place prior to 7 October. Israel's current actions in Gaza are not just in retaliation for the horrific Hamas attack on 7 October but also an escalation of Israel's policy of attacking Palestinian people. The latest postcard I got had no names on it. It simply stated:

In Gaza one child is being killed every 10 minutes

Stop the slaughter now.

I could wallpaper Leinster House if I were to get a postcard for every one of the 5,000 children who have been murdered by Israel so far this year.

Ireland must impose sanctions now. We must call for an immediate ceasefire. We must refer Israel to the International Criminal Court. We must recognise the state of Palestine. We must impose diplomatic sanctions on Israel, including expelling the Israeli ambassador. The world must say "Stop", and Ireland can lead the way.

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