Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

I send my solidarity to the people of Palestine. I condemn the Israeli genocide and the ongoing starvation of the people of Gaza. A blockade is preventing humanitarian aid from being brought in and it is certain that thousands more men, women and children will die. These deaths are entirely preventable. We cannot turn our eyes away. Every day, we are reminded by people living in Gaza that we must not look away and that we must not stop talking about Palestine, but it is hard to look at children being slaughtered. It is hard to see their emaciated bodies. Of course we want to turn away. It is hard to see parents with their children's remains in bits in plastic bags, but still, we cannot look away. There must be a full and immediate ceasefire.

We condemn the commentary of Benjamin Netanyahu about the ceasefire, when he said that the Israeli military will enter Gaza "with full force". Jesus Christ. What is "with full force" going to mean when we have seen the brutality that regime is capable of? Nobody is saying that the Government is doing nothing, but where the Government can do more, it must do more. It could start by passing the occupied territories Bill in full, not a watered-down version of it. It could give its support to an Teachta Pearse Doherty's legislation to end the sale of Israeli war bonds. It could stop warplanes using Shannon. As I came into the Chamber, I read on my phone that Israel has fired warning shots at a delegation visiting the Jenin refugee camp.

Israel blockades and commits genocide because there are no consequences. There must be consequences for the actions of the Israeli genocidal regime. In Ireland, we have a proud history of standing up against apartheid. Women like Mary Manning stood up against the South African apartheid. That is our history. We must be true to who we are. We must stand up to the apartheid Israeli regime and do everything. We must never stop, never look away, and never rest and say this is enough until there is a ceasefire and until the people of Palestine can begin to rebuild their lives.

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