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

I thank Deputy Carthy for raising the question. In Gaza, Palestinian civilians are living in conditions that no human being should have to endure. Gaza is on the brink of a man-made famine. Every day without a ceasefire brings this truly horrific prospect ever closer. I share the deep concerns of this House about the current war and it must end. This is why, every day, my focus remains on achieving an immediate ceasefire.

I remain equally focused on the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and on a massive and sustained increase in humanitarian aid, with full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. I remain hopeful that the talks between Israel, US, Qatar and Egypt will deliver a ceasefire in the near future, and in advance of Ramadan. While we are focused on ending the current brutal war, we cannot lose sight of the need for an urgent and comprehensive political track to end decades of conflict.

In terms of recognition of a state of Palestine, the commitment in the programme for Government states that we will "recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-State solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory".

There are intensive ongoing discussions about how the international community can develop and support a credible pathway to the implementation of a two-state solution. In this regard, we have been actively engaged with regional partners on the finalisation of a peace plan currently being developed by a core group of Arab states. I discussed this with the Jordanian and Palestinian foreign ministers in the Munich security conference and senior officials from my Department have travelled to the region in recent weeks at my request to further consult with key partners on the details of this plan and how Ireland, with a number of European partners, could support this initiative.

Recognition is a step Ireland can only take once, a step which should be taken with a group of European partners, and a step which should be calibrated to best advance a two-state solution and-or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory. This is, and will remain, my focus and that of my Department.

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