Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I came across a quote today that said a sane state did not wage war against civilians and did not kill babies as a hobby. That is a very strong statement. What has been happening, particularly in Gaza, over the past number of painful months has been atrocious. It makes me nervous that people in the western world - in the whole world - are looking at what is happening Gaza and war and death have been normalised. This shows that, while not all of us, a lot of people in this world have lost their souls and humanity.

I cannot imagine what the people who have been bombed every day are going through. What the people of Palestine are being subjected to is absolutely and utterly horrific. Millions of people face starvation. We have spoke about it. If nothing else, we have to lift the blockade on the aid and allow in what we would call impartial organisations into Gaza to distribute that aid.

Let us be honest - Israel has trampled over international law and is getting away with it. I have to be very careful with my words because, like everyone else, I can get angry. There is no crime that Israel has not inflicted on the Palestinian people, yet the international community has done nothing. We have named them, namely, the US, France, Germany and our own European Union. I thought a union was meant to help and look after one another and have strength in numbers, but I have lost faith in that. How can a lasting peace be built when Benjamin Netanyahu is not held to account? The regime acts with impunity and gets away with everything. That drives me crazy.

I ask the Government to listen to everybody here and play its part in passing the occupied territories Bill. From a tiny little acorn grows a mighty oak tree. Let us start with every small thing we can do to get us to the big oak tree and help the Palestinian people who are suffering.

Ordinary people in their tens of thousands have come out onto the street throughout the country to give voice to how angry they are at Israeli war crimes and the inaction of the Irish Government and others. Please, listen to everyone. Look at the people all over the world who have come out in support of peace and the Palestinians.

To say it is shocking, but Israel does act with impunity. That is because it has never been held to account, not for one of its actions in killing thousands upon thousands of civilians - unarmed mothers, children, fathers, you name it. Professional people who have a right to go there and report what is happening are just massacred without any consequences. It is genocide - there is no other word for it - and it is being normalised. We are not doing enough to get this right. Israel has violated every single part of international law and got away with it. We are human beings, and if we get away with something the first time, we will chance it again, regardless of what it is. That is what we have seen with Iran.

I wish to mention the band Kneecap and others who have given Palestinians a voice. It is shocking to see more time being spent trying to silence people who are giving the Palestinians a voice. If half that effort was spent trying to have peace in Palestine, we may not be in here talking about it. Please, work together and do whatever is possible to pass the occupied territories Bill.

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