Dáil debates

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions

Middle East Peace Process

11:00 am

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

28. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel by the United States of America and the relocation of its embassy; his further views on the removal of the invitation to President Trump; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53199/17]

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

President Donald Trump is renowned for his very small hands, but he has put his big feet in it in the Middle East with his unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. This is rightly seen as an endorsement of the far-right policies of the Israeli Government and an attempt to annex not just East Jerusalem, but all of the Palestinian territories. It has caused uproar in the Middle East, with protests taking place and, tragically, four Palestinians killed and many hundreds injured. His arrogant declaration is already stained with blood. Does the Government not agree that it is now time to withdraw the invitation to President Trump to come to Ireland?

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As I have reported to the House, I directly conveyed to the US Government my deep concerns in advance of this decision, as did many other leaders. I was disappointed at the US announcement recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and initiating steps to move the US embassy there. I issued a statement describing this decision as premature, ill-advised and unhelpful to efforts to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. High Representative Mogherini issued a similar statement on behalf of the EU and many EU governments have done likewise.

No country has its embassy to Israel in the city of Jerusalem. There are good reasons for this international consensus. First, the status of Jerusalem is one the issues to be resolved in a peace agreement and it is unhelpful to single out and anticipate a conclusion on just one issue. Second, Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, including occupied East Jerusalem, where more than 300,000 Palestinians live and which Palestinians see as the future capital of the Palestinian state.

President Trump stated that United States recognition did not imply any US view on the eventual boundaries of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. That is an important caveat. Unfortunately, this nuance is lost in the political signal sent to Israel last week.

I would not be in favour of refusing to meet or host the President of the United States because of a disagreement on policy, however strongly we might disagree. That would be incompatible with the depth and scale of our relationship, which is overwhelmingly a positive one. It would reduce our opportunities for influence in the short term and damage our interests in the long term.

For our part, Ireland's policy on Jerusalem is clear. In this week's EU informal meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I underlined to him our continuing conviction that the conflict could only be resolved by a two-state solution, including a sovereign state of Palestine. I also stressed the crucial and negative impact of continuing settlement building. Therefore, the Government looks forward in due course to recognising Jerusalem as the capital both of Israel and a sovereign state of Palestine.

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The response is a wringing of hands and statements to the effect that, although it is bad that he has done this, there is nothing we can do. However, the Government can do something that would send a powerful signal right around the world, namely, to use this occasion as it should have used on many other occasions previously to withdraw the invitation, which has political significance, to President Trump and say that we do not accept the policy of supporting the annexation of Palestinian territories, we oppose the oppression of the Palestinian people and we oppose the US support for that policy under various presidents, Democrats and Republicans. Candidates from both parties promised to move the embassies previously. Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid, including a recent deal for $38 billion over the next ten years.

The problem is that the EU presenting itself as an honest broker and as having a different policy than the US are just crocodile tears when Palestinians are being killed, given the covert support for Israel, such as through the EU-Israel association agreement, which effectively incorporates Israel into the Common Market, or the funding for Israeli armaments companies through EU research programmes.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The difference in approach is one of choosing engagement or protest-isolation. For Ireland to effectively reverse an invitation to the President of the United States to visit Ireland would be counterproductive and a mistake. We share many interests with the US and there is a long and friendly relationship between the two countries. We disagree on some policy issues, including this one. I have stated clearly that last week's decision was a mistake, one that has created a great deal of tension across the Middle East and annoyance in many Arab and other states. It makes the search for a lasting peace settlement between Israelis and Palestinians more difficult.

However, I do not believe that, either on this issue or on the many other issues that the US and Ireland need to be talking to each other about, we advance the interests of either country by disinviting the President of the United States. If President Trump chooses to come to Ireland, that visit will be facilitated.

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

One has to wonder what it will take for the invitation to be withdrawn. Issues will arise time and again and, time and again, the question of withdrawing the invitation will be posed. What will it take? The conditions of Palestinians in annexed East Jerusalem are horrific and a microcosm for the oppression of Palestinians generally within the West Bank, Gaza and the 1967 borders.

Of the approximately 300,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, more than 140,000 are separated from Jerusalem proper by a so-called separation wall 10 m high. These are cut off from access to basic public services, have a minimal number of post offices and a minimal amount of electricity, and a small minority of people are connected to water legally. Despite East Jerusalem having 33% of Jerusalem's population, it gets less than 10% of the funding that goes into the city. There has been the expansion in settlements, with 200,000 illegal settlers in East Jerusalem since 1977, which is designed to make a Palestinian state unviable. That is the strategy of the Israeli ruling class.

The EU will not do anything about this, so the only answer is a movement of protest from below, which is precisely what the Minister says is not worth doing. Look at what was achieved in the Arab Spring. What is necessary in the Middle East is an uprising of ordinary people in Palestine and Israel and across the region to bring a solution that is in the interests of the people of that region.

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am not sure that the Arab Spring set a particularly good example in many countries, but I share the Deputy's concerns about the conditions in which many Palestinians live. I have been to Jerusalem, the West Bank, including Ramallah, and Gaza. I was there four months ago and will return in the second week of January when I will be visiting Gaza, Ramallah, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I will also be visiting Cairo.

We have an interest in this issue and I want Ireland to use its influence, but I do not want Ireland to cut itself off and be seen as a country that simply makes critical statements of Israel and takes protest actions. We would be written off as a broker that could play a part in helping to move a new peace deal forward. I do not disagree with the Deputy's concerns about the conditions in Gaza in particular, but also those in much of East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank. I had an opportunity to say directly to the Israeli Prime Minister that we, as the European Union but also as Ireland, continued to have concerns about Israel's policy of expanding settlements. I asked him direct questions in that regard.

The only point on which the Deputy and I disagree is how to bring about a political dialogue that can result in a good outcome for Palestinians, but also a good outcome for Israelis in terms of their legitimate security concerns.

That is what I believe the Government politically has an obligation to try to achieve.