Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

Gaza needs aid. Gaza needs a ceasefire. Israel needs sanctions. That may be a very simplistic message but that is what is needed right now. Israel has displaced the people of Gaza. Israel has murdered the people of Gaza. Israel has starved the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza are being ethnically cleansed right before our very eyes. If you do not believe me, believe the words of Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich. He said Israel is going to occupy the Gaza Strip. He then predicted that Gaza would be totally destroyed within a matter of months. He has vowed that the aid entering Gaza would be the minimum necessary to ensure the world did not stop them and accuse them of war crimes. Imagine that. He went on to say Israel will destroy everything that still remains in Gaza. That is straight out of the mouth of the Israeli finance minister. That is straight out of the mouth of a genocidal maniac. If any world leader made such statements and carried out such policies against any other people, there would be sanctions. There would be arms embargoes. There would be diplomatic consequences. Instead, there is silence and inaction.

Yesterday, the United Nations warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours. If emergency aid and medical access are not immediately restored, 14,000 babies will die. These are not military casualties. These are babies. They are starved, dehydrated and critically ill. Their deaths will not be tragic accidents. They will be deliberate consequences of Israel's genocidal policies and international inaction. There have been small, but welcome, moves by the EU to review trade ties but the people of Gaza simply do not have time for reviews. They need action. Israel needs sanctions. That is the only way it will stop its genocidal atrocities on the people of Gaza.

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