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

Like everyone in the House, I am appalled at the ongoing violence that is occurring in Gaza and, indeed, in the West Bank and Israel, where millions of people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed, mostly women and children. We should not forget there are two sides to this conflict. It is the case that many more Palestinians have died than Israelis and many more Palestinians have been displaced than Israelis but there have been Israelis killed and Palestinians and Israelis displaced too. It is important that should be acknowledged, perhaps in the Deputy's next remarks.

In terms of what we are doing as a Government, we are working at EU level, UN level and bilateral level to do anything we practically can do to bring about a ceasefire. We were among the first countries in the world to call for a humanitarian ceasefire. That is the way we voted at UN and EU levels and we will continue to look for that because we need a ceasefire so that humanitarian aid can get in, the killing can stop and the hostages who are still being held in Gaza can be released.

What happens at the ICJ and the International Criminal Court is really important. We are very big supporters of these institutions but I am sad to say I do not believe an order from the ICJ will bring about an end to this conflict. It did not do so in Ukraine. It may be four years before the case is finally decided. This conflict will be brought to an end by diplomacy and politics.

That is why we are focusing on diplomacy and politics. What the Government is asking the House to agree to tonight is to recognise that our overwhelming priority is exactly that, namely, trying to achieve a ceasefire on both sides and an end to the violence by way of diplomacy and politics. We are also demanding unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza, and we are supporting the UN in its work in that regard. We are also committing to support any decision of the ICJ on preliminary measures. These will be final and binding on the parties concerned, and we will urge all parties to the genocide convention to do so.

We are also committing to considering an intervention in the case of South Africa v.Israel at the ICJ. This is done at the point when South Africa would file its main case - its memorial case. While some countries have indicated that they will intervene, none has yet done so because that does not happen until that point. This is exactly the approach we took in relation to Ukraine. We will also drive efforts at EU level to bring about sanctions against violent settlers in the West Bank.

On ICJ cases, the Attorney General will travel to The Hague on 22 February to make Ireland's intervention in respect of the situation in Israel and Palestine in person. That relates to an existing case before the ICJ regarding Israel's actions in Palestine and the West Bank. I hope that proves we are taking this seriously and that we are taking the ICJ seriously. We want to do this properly, just as we have with that case and just as we did in relation to Ukraine.

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