Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

A Government Deputy said earlier that Ireland has been most staunch on the question of Gaza. That may be true, but it would not be very hard because Europe has been so poor on the issue. In fact, the image of Ursula von der Leyen running into the arms of Benjamin Netanyahu after 7 October and declaring her undying love for him and his regime will remain with all of us right-minded and humane people in Europe who care about the people of Palestine. Germany has frozen aid funding for Gaza in the most awful circumstances of a humanitarian genocide. One of the wealthiest countries in Europe has frozen aid funding. Austria, Hungary, Czechia and Croatia voted against a ceasefire in Gaza in October 2023. In February 2024, Hungary voted against an immediate ceasefire. Here is the record of very powerful European countries and leaders. Germany, for example, sent more than 1,000 tank engines to Israel. German-made diesel engines are used in the fighter vehicles that are produced in Israel. An Italian company has sold armaments worth almost €120 million to Israel in the past eight to ten years. The European Union fully backs the genocide in Gaza in deed - not just in word but also in deed and in what the countries of the Union do. The Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, says he is going to have the heads of a Bill ready to get rid of the triple lock and bring Ireland into arrangements that are more like permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, with the rest of the European Union to involve us in personnel training, to donate equipment and to increase our military spending so that we are in line with the EU, ready to protect ourselves and to support any number of wars that may happen on the borders with Europe. I do not say this to condone Putin's disgraceful and aggressive war in Ukraine. I do say it to ask where this is going to lead us. We are going to align ourselves with those I talked about who would throw the Palestinian people not just under a bus but under Israeli tanks and shells, and a murderous and inhumane regime that is now driving people towards famine. We have to watch little children dying when there is no excuse for it.

While all that goes on, we still allow Shannon Airport to be used for we do not know what most of the time. We know it is costing us approximately €4 million per year. It has been used since 2002 and the most recent war in the Gulf to allow American military aircraft to come and go into the Middle East and carry out its murderous regime. We must oppose the use of Shannon Airport for military purposes if we are to be genuinely the most staunch on the question of Palestine and Gaza, as was said by a Government Deputy. We must oppose that obscene use of Shannon Airport and the cover-up that exists around it.

We must also oppose the idea that the triple lock can be dropped and that we can join forces and arms with the likes of Germany, Italy and Ursula von der Leyen who fully support the Israeli war on Gaza.

Unless we do that, we will be endorsing genocide, man-made famine, utter destruction such as the death of 30 people who were killed last night trying to provide food aid to starving people, the plans Israel has to invade the southern end of the Gaza Strip on foot, convoys arriving in Gaza without being blocked being fired upon and attempts to get food to people being blocked.

Whatever we do with regard to pre-European Council statements and our involvement in the EU, we have to be the staunchest. If that is what the Deputies are claiming, we have to be even stauncher and make it very clear that we will not back a EU militarisation regime that wants to involve us in more wars, more weapons, increased spending on militarisation and linking arms with Ursula von der Leyen, the Germans and others, who fully endorse the behaviour of Netanyahu and the murderous regime in Israel. That is a message that this Government must give to the EU.

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