Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

A.

To insert the following after "ongoing bombardment of Gaza by Israel;":

"reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on 7th October, 2023";

B.

to delete "call on Israel to immediately implement fully" and substitute "reiterate its call on Israel to immediately implement fully";

C.

to delete "file a declaration of intention to intervene in this case with the ICJ;" and substitute the following:

"urgently consider filing a declaration of intervention in this case with the ICJ, based on a legal analysis of the Genocide Convention, the Court's provisional measures order and consultation with other Contracting Parties;"; and

D.

to delete "commence the process of preparing for participation in the case" and substitute "commence the process of preparing for potential participation in the case".

All of us in this House are united in our view that what is happening in Gaza must stop. There should and must be a ceasefire. All of us and all of the Irish people are appalled by what we see unfolding. A total of 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes and have nowhere safe to go. At least 10,000 of the 26,000 Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza since October are children. Moreover, 90% of the 2.3 million people in Gaza are now acutely food insecure and the UN is warning of a real risk of famine. No one in this House believes that any of this is acceptable. We all want an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and a massive scale-up in humanitarian assistance. We are agreed on these fundamental objectives The question is what is the most effective way of making them happen. I have been clear from the start of this horrible conflict that Ireland needs to use all the tools we have at our disposal - political, legal, diplomatic and humanitarian. That is the approach the Government has taken from the start.

It is why we were one of the first countries in the European Union to call for a humanitarian ceasefire and why we voted for UN General Assembly resolutions in November and December that reiterated this call, made immediate additional humanitarian funding available for Palestine and worked day and night to facilitate 56 Irish citizens to leave Gaza and to secure the release of Emily Hand. It is why I travelled to the region in November and met Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli leaders and spent many hours talking to EU counterparts and Arab leaders about how we can bring an end to the misery in Gaza. It is why I told the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs at the EU Foreign Affairs Council last week that we believed some of its military actions in Gaza amounted to war crimes and that its disinformation and delegitimisation campaign against the United Nations was unacceptable and must stop. It is why our Attorney General will travel to The Hague next month to participate in the proceedings at the International Court of Justice on a case on the legality of Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories. It is why Ireland has been at the forefront of pushing for European Union sanctions against violent settlers displacing Palestinian communities in the West Bank and why I am in ongoing consultations with Jordan and other Arab partners about a potential Arab peace plan and how Ireland and other like-minded European Union states can contribute to it. I was the first Foreign Minister in the world to express my full confidence in the UNRWA Commissioner-General on Saturday when news of the possible participation of a small number of UNRWA employees in the heinous attacks of 7 October broke and others were deciding to halt funding to UNRWA’s essential work. It is why the Government and I will take a serious, rigorous and informed approach to South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice under the genocide convention.

We will not be distracted by political posturing or one-upmanship. The Government will analyse the issue thoroughly and then make its decision. Our approach to this conflict and our efforts to do everything possible to end it are widely admired and respected internationally. I do not doubt the sincerity and strength of feeling in this House about the situation in Gaza, which reflects the deep sense of solidarity with Palestinian people felt by Irish people. I cannot help but be puzzled by the disconnect between what I hear in this Chamber and what I hear internationally. What we heard from the Opposition benches last week and a bit tonight is that the Government should somehow be ashamed of not doing enough, of not representing the will of the Irish people and of letting down the Palestinian people or being on the fence, as was just said. Shame is not the word I hear outside this House from our partners in Palestine and across the Arab world and the global south or from the UN agencies and civil society organisations we work with. What I hear from them is gratitude for the principled position taken by Ireland, our tireless work and advocacy internationally and our political, financial, diplomatic and moral support for Palestine. I hear requests for us to maintain our position and to continue to be a principled and effective voice within the European Union, the United Nations and in bilateral contacts. I value these voices, not because they tell me what I want to hear but because they remind me that what we are doing matters and that we have impact, particularly if we can bring others with us.

I made very clear last week how the Government intended to proceed in relation to South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ. We will analyse the detail of the provisional measures ordered by the court last Friday. My officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs are undertaking this analysis as we speak. We are consulting with partners; indeed, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs have already met their South African counterparts and I have spoken to a number of EU partners. Our South African partners indicate it will be four to five months before they submit their substantial case. We will consider whether to make an intervention in the right way and at the right time. This is the right approach - the only approach - if we are serious about delivering accountability. The International Court of Justice is not a debating society, it is a legal institution and the cornerstone of the international judicial system. The Opposition continues to call for Ireland to join or, as I think one Deputy said, to side with and be on the side of South Africa’s case, even though it knows this is not how the court works. Casual and inaccurate references to this case are profoundly unhelpful and irresponsible. They seek to sow division within this House and the wider public on an issue upon which there is broad unity. The 1948 genocide convention was drawn up and adopted in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War as a direct response to the unrivalled cataclysm of the Holocaust inflicted upon the Jewish people in Europe by Nazi Germany. Genocide was described as the "Denial of the right of existence of entire human groups", which "shocks the conscience of mankind" and, as such, constitutes a crime under international law.It is the gravest accusation. It should not be made lightly. This explains why, since 1948, only four other interstate cases have been initiated under the genocide convention before the International Court of Justice, one of which was to challenge an entirely false allegation of genocide and its use as a pretext for aggression.

Intervention as a third party in a case before the International Court of Justice is a complex matter and up to now has been relatively rare. Before Ukraine initiated proceedings against Russia under the genocide convention in 2022, only four states had ever sought to intervene under Article 63 of the court’s statute. Of those, the court declared only two of the interventions admissible. In respect of the Ukraine v.Russian Federation case, of the 32 interventions declared admissible, not one made a declaration of intervention before Ukraine had filed its memorial with the court, which itself was four months after the orders for provisional measures. We are doing exactly the same in respect of this particular case. Of course, the Ukraine case was quite different to that brought by South Africa as it was primarily focused on refuting Russia’s claim that it had invaded to prevent genocide within Ukraine. An intervention under Article 63 must satisfy a number of criteria to be deemed admissible by the court. The court has also interpreted the term "genocide" very narrowly, so that what might in ordinary parlance be described as genocide does not correspond with its definition under the genocide convention and its interpretation by the court.

These are the facts. They may not be facts that fit neatly into a slogan to be shouted or a 90-second clip for TikTok but they are important because any credible and admissible intervention in this case, or any other case, must respect them. If what we are seeking is accountability - there should be political accountability - rather than political grandstanding, it is essential that we do this properly. I repeat: this is exactly the same approach we took in relation to the Ukraine v.Russian Federation case.

For all these reasons, the Government has put forward a number of amendments to the motion. The amendments are clear and factual and reiterate the position we set out in the House last week. I have also asked my officials to provide technical briefings to Opposition Members to outline the substance of the genocide convention itself and the court’s rulings in previous cases. I also want to highlight how important it is that we do not lose sight of the need to hold all parties to this conflict to account for their actions. Irrespective of whether any of Israel’s actions are eventually judged by the ICJ to meet the threshold of genocide, the court cannot investigate the actions of Hamas, nor does this case comprehensively cover war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is where the role of the International Criminal Court, and the investigation by the ICC’s prosecutor, remains absolutely essential. This investigation covers the horrific events of 7 October as well as the current situation in Gaza. It also includes all potential crimes within the jurisdiction of the court from 2014 onwards, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including genocidal acts. Rather than people saying we did not join, that case is on the way and the prosecutor is prosecuting.

The provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza was one of several important provisional measures ordered by the court. As the House will be aware, UNRWA is at the centre of humanitarian operations and basic services provision in Gaza. In the light of serious allegations that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the attacks of 7 October in Israel, the commissioner-general has immediately terminated the contracts of a number of employees. The UN will investigate thoroughly and as a matter of urgency. These allegations are extremely serious. If proven, the individuals concerned must be held to account; there can be no doubt about this. However, I am deeply concerned that many UNRWA donors have stopped funding with immediate effect and I have made clear that Ireland has no plans to suspend funding to the agency. I have full confidence in the agency's leadership to ensure that its zero-tolerance policy for anyone involved in violence or terror is upheld. The allegations that have been made are in respect of the actions of 12 staff members, in an organisation that employs 30,000 people, with 13,000 in Gaza alone. There has never been greater urgency for UNRWA to be able to fulfil its mandate. It is the only organisation with the capacity to deliver aid in sufficient quantities in Gaza. Some 2.3 million civilians in Gaza cannot be the ones to pay the price for possible criminal actions by 12 people.

Our focus today is on Gaza, and rightly so. However, we cannot lose sight of the wider regional environment. The potential for further escalation remains high. The attack on a US base in Jordan last weekend, with at least three US service people killed and many more injured, is unacceptable and deeply concerning. I condemn it and offer my sincere condolences to the US and to the families of those killed. All countries with influence in the region, not least those with influence on non-state actors, must use this for de-escalation. I have made the point repeatedly, including directly to the Iranian Foreign Minister, and I will continue to do so. In closing, I would like to reiterate that the Government’s focus will remain on using every avenue to end this conflict in Gaza. However remote the possibility may seem, the only possible solution can be through political means, through a process which respects the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people, and which delivers peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

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