Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The current situation in Gaza is intolerable. It is unacceptable that over 18,000 people have been killed so far, many of them children, and that the majority of the population of Gaza, about 2 million people, have been displaced. The death toll is shocking, and the relentless bombings and killing of innocent civilians must end. That is why I will continue to make the case in Brussels and elsewhere for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in order that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, hostages can be released and citizens of third countries who want to leave are able to do so. I will continue to make the case that Europe needs to change its position on Israel and Palestine, to be less passive and to push for and demand a two-state solution in a way that we have not done in the past. I will be making that case strongly with colleagues on Thursday and Friday.

The political and legal advice is clear that trade is an exclusive competence of the European Union and that decisions made on trade and sanctions can only be made on the basis of consensus or unanimity. As long as even one or two EU countries do not want to impose trade sanctions, it is not open to us to do so. That is the clear political fact for anyone who reads the treaties but also the legal advice for anyone who wishes to interrogate the matter.

The UN vote yesterday is significant. We welcome it. Of nearly 200 countries in the world, over 150 voted for a ceasefire yesterday in New York. Only ten countries are now siding with Israel.

What we are seeing unfolding in Gaza is an absolute disaster for the Palestinian people and they are experiencing terrible suffering. I do not mean the Hamas terrorists, I mean the civilians. The majority of people being killed are civilians and the majority of them are women and children.

I also think it is a disaster for Israel because this will not bring them security and it will not bring them peace. It is very quickly losing support and sympathy all around the world. Even its closest ally, the United States, is, I believe, beginning to have second thoughts about what is unfolding in Gaza.

That is a strategic disaster for Israel. The Israelis are making a huge mistake. It is not just about the humanitarian suffering that is being imposed on the people in Palestine; what the Israeli Government is doing is jeopardising the long- and medium-term security of the Israeli people.

See this speech in context