Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise matter of the ongoing crisis in Gaza, for his interest in the plight of the Palestinian people generally, and for those in Gaza in particular. I am glad that the Tánaiste is present.

Many people in Gaza will watch the recording of this debate. The elected representatives of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza have specifically asked that statements be made in the run up to the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the events in 1948 when over 1 million Palestinians were ethnically cleansed and displaced from their lands. It was an event which marked the beginning of 70 years of tragedy, displacement, exile, dispossession, occupation and oppression for the people of Palestine that continues today and we witness in all its horror with 45 unarmed protestors, many young people, some as young as 14 years - one young man on his 14th birthday - killed by Israeli snipers in what can only be described as the cold-blooded execution of unarmed protestors.

These are protestors who have been marching to vindicate their rights under international law. I refer specifically to UN resolution 194, which gives people who have been ethnically cleansed or displaced from their homes the right to return. That has been denied to them for 70 years. In the case of Gaza, it has lead to a horrific humanitarian catastrophe since the imposition of a brutal siege by Israel that has been going on for 11 years. It prevents basic goods being brought into Gaza, a tiny area of land in which 2 million people live and which has been subjected to four savage Israeli military assaults against a largely defenceless population.

It is critically important that we speak up for the Palestinians and their plight, particularly in view of what has been visited on them in recent weeks and is likely to continue in coming weeks in the lead-up to the anniversary on 15 May. We must speak out and do something, we cannot just condemn. I have heard the Tánaiste and, indeed, the Taoiseach condemn what is happening. However, we need to do something for people who are suffering intolerably and unjustly.

One thing we can do, and which we have been asked to do, is something I have raised previously with the Tánaiste. The Palestinian Legislative Council has invited representatives from the various parties in this Parliament to go to Gaza - they are not asking for the Government to send representatives, although they would be very glad if the Government were to so do officially - and meet all groups, specifically the members of the elected parliament there. As the Tánaiste knows, at the heart of what is happening in Gaza is Israel's refusal - and, tragically, that of much of the international community - to recognise the outcome of a democratic election. That is what started this and the suffering continues because of it. I ask that we do something. Sanctions should be imposed on Israel for its flagrant breaches of international law and human rights. If, however, we do not impose sanctions, can we at least sent an all-party group there to witness what is happening and to meet and talk to everybody over there, specifically the elected representatives in Gaza, in order that we can point a way out of this horrific conflict? I hope to get a positive response.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue - not for the first time - and I am happy to be here to respond because it is one about which I am also greatly concerned. I have been particularly concerned in recent weeks due to the appalling number of serious injuries and deaths among people engaged in demonstrations. To date, 47 Palestinians are reported to have been killed and 1,500 injured. Some of those shot may have been trying to cross the border fence but, clearly, many - or most - were some distance inside Gaza and posing no immediate threat. There are at least some cases where the persons shot seem to have been readily identifiable as children or as journalists reporting on the events.

Every country is entitled to defend its territory but international law clearly defines the circumstances in which force, particularly deadly force, can be used against civilians. Such force must only be used in cases of real and immediate threat to life, and only as a last resort, that is, when other methods have failed. The use of force should also be proportionate to the threat posed. I am not satisfied that these limits have been respected.

Israel is fully entitled to be vigilant and cautious when there are mass demonstrations close to its border with Gaza. However, Palestinians also have a right to protest. The use of live ammunition is not a normal approach to crowd control and the resulting number and nature of casualties in recent weeks has been shocking. Many of the injuries from live ammunition have been severe and life-changing, and many people have been killed.

I made two public statements regarding these incidents on 31 March and 9 April. I called on all sides to show restraint, particularly Israel in its use of force. Everyone needs to take responsibility to ensure young people particularly are not placed in harm’s way. I have also supported the calls by the EU and the UN Secretary General for an independent and transparent investigation into these events. I have expressed these concerns directly to the Israeli ambassador and our ambassador in Israel has conveyed my views to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The intensity of the clashes has decreased somewhat in recent weeks. However, with the cycle of protests in Gaza scheduled to culminate in the middle of this month, that is, next week, I am deeply concerned about the prospect of further casualties. I call on all parties, particularly Israel, to show restraint and to avoid confrontation. We should remember that next week will also see the official opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, which will add further fuel to this fire.

I would also stress the wider context in which these events have occurred. As I have made clear in all my contacts in the region, the situation in Gaza is untenable. If the cycle of violence and depression in the Gaza Strip is not ended, we know that events of this nature will recur. The long-standing blockade cannot be accepted as normal. It is for this reason that, in my many contacts at EU and international level, I have been particularly active in trying to encourage and promote international engagement on improving life in Gaza, which I visited in January on my second journey there. I have made this a priority in my work as Minister for Foreign Affairs. It will continue to be a priority. If people have practical suggestions for how we can assist, I will listen to them.

This year, we are increasing our spend significantly towards supporting Palestinians. One project that we are supporting is a very large solar energy project to power a water purification plant in Gaza in order to try to improve the quality of life there.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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People in Gaza will appreciate much of what the Tánaiste said. They will also appreciate any additional support that can be given, including humanitarian support and support to develop and regenerate a shattered infrastructure. However, the problem is ultimately political in nature.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes it is.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The question the people in Gaza, who are desperate, are asking relates to what they are supposed to do. How often have Palestinians been condemned for armed or military responses?

One can say that they were right or that they were wrong but in this case, the people of Gaza have stated they would march with their hands in the air, unarmed, behind banners of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi and that they would engage in peaceful protest to assert their rights under international law. This is not some right they made up or some aspiration they demanded but the right to return to their lands, which was set down under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194. They are asserting their right to go home. Israel's border does not trump their right to return because they were ethnically cleansed in 1948. It most certainly does not justify shooting down people on unarmed protests.

The question is, what are we going to do about it? Unless sanctions are imposed on Israel it will be indifferent. The decision by Mr. Trump to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem is a direct provocation. What are we going to do? I am making a very simple request and I would appreciate a response to it from the Minister. The representatives elected democratically in free and fair elections in Gaza, whom Israel and the Americans refuse to recognise, ask that we send an all-party delegation not to meet Hamas specifically, but to meet all groups, including the elected representatives of their parliament, in order to hear what they have to say and to look at that destruction so that we can point in the direction which will allow for peace, which is through engagement and discussion, not through the brutality displayed by Israel.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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First, the Deputy asked what these people can do. I can understand protests but there is some evidence to suggest that not all of the protest has been peaceful. There is an obligation on both sides to ensure that, by and large, teenagers are not whipped up and put in harm's way by getting involved in violent conflict. That does not excuse for one minute the fact that 47 people have been killed and well over 1,000 have been injured but I am saying there is also a responsibility to ensure that protests, while absolutely understandable, are peaceful.

I will be back in the Middle East in a few weeks' time. I do not know whether an all-party delegation would get into Gaza.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Let us ask.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Quite frankly, I do not know whether it would be helpful right now but I am happy to talk to the Deputy about that. My only objective is to find a way to move forward a negotiated peace process that can provide medium to long-term solutions for people in Gaza in order that they can see some hope for the future. That could mean removing a blockade, trying to improve living conditions or making sure that in the medium term, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNWRA, keeps the funding it needs. Approximately 70% of the people in Gaza rely on UNWRA for some form of food support or healthcare. These are the practical day-to-day things in which I am interested as well as, obviously, the bigger political issues that need to be resolved. As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I have probably spent more time on this issue than on any other issue outside of Brexit and immediate EU issues. I intend to continue to put a lot of time into this issue. We would need to look at the practicalities of the request the Deputy has made on the floor this evening for an all-party delegation to visit Gaza before I could give him a definitive answer.