Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

I was going through the minutes of the European Council meeting. They state, "The European Council welcomes the agreement reached on the first phase of the Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza Conflict put forward by President Trump". The minutes went on to call on "all parties to fully commit to implementing all phases and to refrain from any actions that jeopardise the agreement". The ceasefire in Gaza has been in place for five weeks. This is not a ceasefire that operates as I or ordinary people would expect. Since the ceasefire, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza health authorities. Much of Gaza remains under Israeli military control. Humanitarian organisations argue much of Gaza is still suffering as a result of insufficient aid coming in and talks of lasting peace have somewhat stalled. The number of Israeli strikes across Gaza has decreased but they have not stopped altogether. A ceasefire to me means that firing simply ceases. Last Thursday, the Palestinian health authority said 260 Palestinian people have been killed and 632 injured since the ceasefire began. Is this really a ceasefire? Among the civilians murdered and injured in recent weeks are dozens of innocent men, women, children and elderly Palestinians. Collective punishment of the Palestinian people by Israel has not ceased. We need the European Council to call out Israel's ongoing and blatant disregard of the ceasefire, and not only that, but to place real sanctions on Israel.

This morning, we had a debate on a collective Opposition motion on the occupied territories Bill. The Government did not oppose the motion, but not opposing something and supporting it are two different things. My problem is that during my time in the House, the Government has been a serial offender in breaking its commitments and promises. I am simply asking that the Government keep its promise in this regard and pass the occupied territories Bill in its entirety, not in a watered-down manner. As we speak, Israel continues to act with impunity. There has to be accountability and passing the occupied territories Bill is a necessary step for the Irish Government if it wants to be taken seriously at all about its commitment to uphold international law and human rights.

I welcome one line in the statements of the European Council, where it stresses the importance of the de-escalation in the West Bank and calls for an end to settler violence. What the occupied territories Bill aims to do is sanction Israel for illegal land grabs of Palestinian land, which cannot go unpunished. One thing I am really concerned about at the moment is the lack of media focus on Palestine. It used to be the first thing on the news. My concern is that when eyes are not on Gaza and Palestine, Israel will continue to act with impunity and to inflict genocide on the Palestinian people. I am very concerned about that.

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