Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have come to the point where we are recognising the State of Palestine, where there is very little left to recognise except the determination of the Palestinian people. Palestine has been bombed practically out of existence. The International Court of Justice last week issued a very strong order and Israel completely ignored that. Over the weekend, they dropped a 2,000 lb bomb supplied by the US - our friends, of course - and I understand a British air force Shadow spy plane was flying overhead at the time. Since that order, over the weekend, 200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been murdered - I use the word “murdered” - by Israeli bombing in several areas throughout Gaza. It is glaringly obvious that the whole purpose is genocide and to eradicate the Palestinian people.

I did not join the call for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled and on the last occasion that I spoke, I said it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to stand by that decision. This is a woman, an ambassador, who is threatening us on trade, who is openly using our airways to threaten us, doing exactly, as outlined yesterday in The Guardian, what Mossad did in relation to the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It is time for us to act. The most basic thing is not to support von der Leyen, who from day one said she would stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel. That would be one obvious thing.

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