Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)

I recognise the work the Government has done in support for UNRWA and the International Court of Justice and in recognising the State of Palestine, which it did on this day one year ago. There is, however, much more that needs to be done. After the last 12 months, it is unclear how much longer the State of Palestine will actually exist on the map. An entire people, its culture and place are being methodically and systematically erased by Israel. Israel's genocidal campaign of death and devastation has continued for nearly two years with barely a pause and without any sanction. The daily horrors we are witnessing are utterly horrific. People in Gaza cannot feed their families or treat their injured. All the while, a few kilometres away, thousands of trucks laden with aid are refused entry at the border.

Dr. Ali Al Najjar works in Sligo. On Friday morning, nine of his nieces and nephews were killed by Israel. An air strike on the home of his sister, a doctor in Gaza, killed her children while she was working on an emergency ward. Her youngest children were still in pyjamas.

What Israel is doing in Gaza is not just depraved and immoral, it is inhumane, barbaric and illegal. Every time we think we have seen the worst of what Israel can do in terms of cruelty and lawlessness, the situation gets even worse. More than 60,000 people are now dead, most of them women, children and the elderly. A British surgeon working in Gaza has described it as a slaughterhouse. The weapons being used in the slaughter are not just Israeli. They are being supplied by the United States and countries in Europe. Much of the weaponry is being financed by the sale of Israeli bonds. These bonds are explicitly advertised as being crucial to the war effort. Israel is running marketing campaigns imploring people to buy these bonds so they can stand with Israel. Israel Bonds president and CEO Dani Naveh has told potential investors that purchasing the bonds was the best way to help Israel support the war campaign. The sale of these bonds is being facilitated in Europe by the Central Bank of Ireland. Those are the facts. It is also a fact that the Government does not want to do anything about this. Last night, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, shamefully claimed that the Government could not act. He did so even though legal advice from Oireachtas lawyers says it can. This advice states clearly that stopping the sale of these bonds is compatible with the Irish Constitution and EU law and in accordance with international law. The Taoiseach has recognised that what is happening in Gaza is genocide. Ireland has a legal obligation under the genocide convention to do everything we can to stop genocide

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