Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 5: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to visit the Palestinian region of Gaza to observe the effects of recent bomb attacks and the on-going siege on the lives of civilians in the region. [8886/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I have not yet made plans to visit Israel, Palestine or Gaza, but I intend to see the conditions there for myself in due course. Ireland has been active on this issue. I will continue to work to maintain a focus on it at EU level. There are three broad areas of concern with regard to Gaza, the first of which is the ongoing Israeli blockade. This has eased a little since last year, with some increase in materials allowed in and a small beginning in allowing some exports. Essentially, just a fraction of the needs of the territory are being allowed in or out. Much more needs to be done and more quickly.

Second, I have been deeply concerned by the worrying rise in violent exchanges across the Gaza border in recent weeks. These have included not only Israeli attacks into Gaza, in which 17 people are believed to have been killed, including civilians, but also continuing indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks by Hamas and other militants against civilian targets in Israel, including a deliberate attack by an anti-tank missile on a school bus in Israel, which injured a 16 year old boy who died last Sunday. While some measure of calm has returned in recent days, a complete ceasefire seems as far away as ever.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I was due to travel to Gaza with a group of international parliamentarians about one week ago to observe the situation on the ground. The visit was cancelled because the safety of the visiting parliamentarians could not be guaranteed. This says everything one needs to know about the gravity of the outrageous position in Gaza which is essentially an open air prison as a result of the actions of the Israeli state. Time and again, Israel has ignored resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly and Security Council over the years. The world sees the speedy actions taken in Libya and, as Deputy Boyd Barrett noted, to some degree people understand the actions being taken in that country, albeit not their extent. It is outrageous that the international community has not made any interventions against Israel.

The Minister referred to the death of a young teenager, Daniel Viflic, who died as a result of a missile fired from Gaza. Two days earlier, Nidal Qdeih died along with her mother, Najah, when an Israeli missile struck their home. In recent times, 50 people have lost their lives in Gaza and more than 170 have been killed by Israelis since Operation Cast Lead. As the Minister will know, approximately 1,400 Palestinians were killed during that outrageous offensive by the Israeli state.

The situation in Gaza must be a top priority for the Minister. I urge him to travel immediately to Gaza and follow in the footsteps of his party's previous spokesperson on foreign affairs, Michael D. Higgins, and his ministerial predecessor, Deputy Martin. It is imperative that he take a stand on this issue and travel to Gaza immediately to see for himself the circumstances on the ground and the impact of outrageous, illegal Israeli activity in the region, which the world has ignored.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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As I stated, it is my intention to visit the region as soon as I can arrange a visit in my timetable to see the situation on the ground. The matter is very much a priority for the Government's approach to foreign affairs and foreign policy. I have made clear to my colleagues at the European Union Foreign Affairs Council that Ireland wishes this issue to be pursued more actively and wants the European Union to take a more active interest in it. As the Deputy noted, the fact that this has been an ongoing, long-standing problem should not be a reason to leave it to one side. The position in Gaza is serious. The blockade which has been placed on Gaza should not continue and we have repeatedly called for its removal.

We want to see an end to the continuing exchange of hostilities between Hamas and Israel and the killings, loss of life and injury that is occurring. I assure the Deputy that this matter is a high priority for me and the Government and we will do everything we possibly can to make our contribution to try to bring a resolution to the conflict.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I reiterate my appeal to the Minister to make arrangements to visit Gaza as soon as possible. Notwithstanding any other initiatives he must make in the region, I call on him to ensure they include visiting Gaza to observe the impact of the blockade. I also call on him to condemn the ongoing actions of the Israeli state. The ongoing aggressive development of settlements is illegal and offensive and runs contrary to all international resolutions and instructions. It is important that the Minister condemns the Israeli state.

The Minister mentioned the death of a 16 year old who was killed by a Hamas missile. All of us want a peaceful resolution to the conflict but in terms of scale the Israeli state has killed 50 people recently and 170 people since the end of Operation Cast Lead which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 people over a number of weeks. It is not good enough to call for an end to hostilities. It is important to take a stand by telling the Israeli state its behaviour is reprehensible and must be condemned by Ireland, Irish people and the international community. I urge the Minister to condemn the ongoing actions of the Israeli state in Gaza.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The State is absolutely opposed to Israel's use of aerial weapons in attacks on Gaza. These inevitably lead, as they have done, to uninvolved civilians being injured or killed. We have also been critical of Israel for not taking political initiatives to try to end the cycle of violence by reaching a comprehensive peace. We must recognise, however, that firing is taking place in both directions. While Hamas and others in Gaza continue to fire rockets and mortars at what are clearly civilian targets, Israel will inevitably defend itself. Clearly, this cannot be done indiscriminately or disproportionately. I do not have any hesitation in condemning attacks in whatever direction which kill civilians. As I stated, the blockade that has been imposed is absolutely unacceptable and it is an issue to which I am giving priority.