Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)

Some 250 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire. As of 11 November, there have been 282 breaches of the ceasefire. That is some ceasefire. That equates to about 10% of the number of people killed in the entire Irish War of Independence. The number of people being killed in Gaza every day is still enormous. There has been a lot of discussion about this ceasefire, this deal and so on. I certainly welcome any progress towards peace. I welcome the fact that progress is being made in that direction. I welcome the release of hostages. Indeed, I echo the call for the release of the remains of those hostages who have died.

Previous speakers, including Ministers, have talked about it being a fragile moment. It is a fragile moment but in a different way from what I believe they meant. It is a fragile moment for the Palestinian people, their ability to have a state of their own and their right to self-determination. A lot of what is happening and a lot of what is being talked about only further highlights the needs for the occupied territories Bill and for pressure to be put on Israel and its allies to respect the rights of the Palestinian people. I refer to their right to life and to decent living conditions in the first instance, but I also refer to their right to an independent state. That is being undermined every day. Yet again, it comes back to the point that there is no accountability for Israel and no consequences for its actions. Every day, we see the Israeli state being more and more directed towards encroachment by means of the establishment of settlements, which is accelerating. Now we are even seeing Israel looking at some sort of erasure of Gaza or a reduction in its size. Statements in the Knesset suggest there may be settlements there in the future. All the while, Israel is undermining the potential future of the Palestinian state.

It is worth making the point that we have been talking about this occupied territories Bill. Deputy O'Gorman is right. I also felt there was a clear direction in terms of the occupied territories Bill but we have been talking about it for seven years at this stage. This Bill has been before these Houses for seven years. Elections happen, promises are made and then there is a change of heart. After the election, this Government seemed unable to decide whether it wanted to water down the Bill or to undertake a slow bicycle race in relation to it. Instead, it seems to have decided to do both. It is both watering it down and not progressing the legislation it has been talking about. It is unacceptable.

With regard to the situation on the ground, Médecins sans Frontières provided a briefing in the audiovisual room. A phrase used by a medical professional who had been in Gaza - I am not sure whether he was a doctor or a nurse - has stayed with me. He was not even trying to be poetic or anything like that but he said there is no colour in Gaza and that everything is grey. He was talking about the fact, which has been referred to here, that 80% of the Gaza area is rubble. There is nothing left. The ability of those people to put their lives together again requires the international community to keep the pressure on and not to look away from the situation, and that includes Ireland. We are not overstating the influence of Ireland. We are not an enormous state but we use what leverage we have. This is one of those pieces. The fact that this legislation was being debated here put the matter on the table at EU level, including in Slovenia and Spain, which are now going ahead of us.

I will come back to the legal question. I have never received a clear answer on this. I do not believe there is one. I think this is a political decision. The Government has told us that, because of the International Court of Justice decision, we can now, on the basis of a public policy exemption, institute a ban on goods. The sanctions and bans on goods and services imposed on Russia after the appalling and illegal invasion of Ukraine were undertaken on that same basis. If the public policy exemption for goods and services in the instance of Russia can be used, why is it only applicable to goods in relation to Palestine? There is no clear answer to that. It is a political decision. I inform the Minister of State and the new Minister and we will keep the pressure on because the correct political and moral decision is not to look away but to continue to use Ireland's influence in whatever ways we can to stop what is happening in Gaza and to deliver a true and meaningful peace and a political solution.

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