Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to prevent and address the commission of the international crimes of genocide and apartheid by the State of Israel, by providing for the establishment of economic sanctions.

This Bill, in line with our moral and legal obligations under the Genocide Convention, international conventions on apartheid and international law, calls for a complete boycott of all economic relations with the State of Israel for the crimes of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, genocide and the ongoing persecution and oppression of the Palestinian people.

There is a narrative that Israel's only crimes are illegal settlements on the West Bank or that the genocidal slaughter we have seen over the past two years in Gaza is simply the outworking of the extremism of Netanyahu and a few individual ministers. The truth, of course, is something very different. The truth is: Israel is not now or never has been a normal state. The State of Israel is a death machine directed at the Palestinians and whose sole purpose is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from their lands. This has been the case since 1948 and the genocidal slaughter we have witnessed over the past two years is simply the outworking of that horrific reality.

It is the failure of the world - the international community, including our own Government, the EU and other governments - to acknowledge the genocidal nature of the Israeli regime and the fact that it is based on apartheid and ethnic cleansing. The continued extension of political cover, arms, economic support and favoured trade status has actually emboldened Israel to commit the genocidal crimes of the past two years.

I have not got time to go into the evidence, but if one looks at the statements of ministers, members of the military and the Israeli Knesset, what one sees again and again are clear statements of genocidal intent. Netanyahu has publicly declared his intention to erase Palestine from the map and that history goes back for the entire history of the State of Israel. Just as we did with apartheid South Africa, the time for treating Israel as a normal state has to an end. It must be isolated from the international community as we did with apartheid South Africa.

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