Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Every week I think we have witnessed the limits of human cruelty and depravity when it comes to Israel's genocide in Gaza. Each week, I am proven wrong. Israel's missile strike on Sunday evening on a tented refugee camp in Rafah was not just a despicable human rights violation; it was depraved and inhumane. On Sunday night, displaced men, women and children cowering in tents were deliberately burned alive. One man, who was pictured in the aftermath, held the badly burned body of his beheaded baby in his arms. I say this not to be graphic or to shock, but because we have to talk about the reality of the hell on earth in Gaza. What we are witnessing is mass murder by a rogue government that flouts international law and ignores rulings from international courts.

Israel's military initially described the missile strike as precise. Later, when even Israel's biggest cheerleaders expressed horror, Netanyahu said it was a tragic error, just like the tragic error last month that led to missile strikes on an aid convoy, killing seven aid workers. Is there anyone who still believes that the enormous death toll in Gaza is an error? It is abundantly clear that civilian deaths are not just acceptable to the Israeli Government; they are deliberate.

Yesterday, as civilians in Rafah searched through ashes for the dismembered remains of their loved ones, the EU issued a press statement about sanctions. In fact, it issued two statements about sanctions but they were not directed at Israel. They were about Russia. The EU has set up another sanctions regime to target Russia. Russian war crimes are rightly condemned and sanctioned by the EU but Israeli war crimes are not just ignored; they are facilitated by the EU through the sale of arms and preferential trading. Some have referred to the meeting of EU foreign ministers yesterday as being a hopeful sign that the EU apathy is ending. Frankly, it is outrageous that it took until yesterday and more than 36,000 deaths in Gaza for sanctions on Israel to even be discussed in a serious way. The EU has disgraced itself through its callous inaction and ambivalence in Gaza. EU leaders complicit in this carnage, like Ursula von der Leyen, should be ashamed.

I welcome that today we will formally recognise the State of Palestine and that finally, the Palestinian flag will fly on the grounds of Leinster House. Symbolism and solidarity are important. However, what we really need are punitive sanctions on Israel here and at EU level. Why will the Government not take that action against Israel, introduce the occupied territories Bill and at least give me the new legal advice I was promised last week but still have not received? The Government should not vote for the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen and should remove the diplomatic status of the ambassador.

See this speech in context