Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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30. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent visit to the Middle East and his meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel; if the recent attacks against the Palestinian people were discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28028/18]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Will the Tánaiste report on his recent visit to the Middle East, specifically on his meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel? Were the recent attacks against the Palestinian people discussed at that meeting?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. This was my third visit to Israel and Palestine as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and my first such visit to Jordan and Cyprus. I have reported on the overall visit, including the Jordan and Cyprus elements, in previous parliamentary question replies.

In Israel and Palestine, on 6 and 7 June, I met, on the Israeli side, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Opposition leader, Itzhak Herzog. In Palestine, I met Foreign Minister Malki and Chief Negotiator Erekat, as well as Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, head of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction. I also met the United States ambassador to Israel to discuss US efforts to develop a peace plan over time.

All my discussions were focused on the broader prospects to restart the political process, centred on current US efforts, which clearly are having limited effect. I also followed up on the discussions I began on my previous visits relating to practical assistance for Gaza and ways of changing the dynamic, something which is especially important following the shocking recent events there. These events, and the heavy Palestinian casualties, of course, featured in my discussions with Prime Minister Netanyahu. As would be expected, he defended the actions of his government and its armed forces. I have strongly expressed my criticisms and those of the Government in my public statements, here in the Dail and directly to the Israeli ambassador. They have also been expressed in Ireland’s actions at the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council. I also used this meeting to engage Mr. Netanyahu in a substantive discussion on practical alternatives for Gaza to seek to find new ways forward there. This was a useful discussion, feeding into ideas which I am continuing to take forward and that involve both Cyprus and Jordan, and, to a certain extent, Egypt.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The time is up.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have on many occasions said in this House that while I may disagree with the approach that has been taken by Israel in its relationship with the Palestinians on issues like settlements and how Gaza border security issues have been responded to, that does not mean we should not engage.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste. We need to control the time. It is two minutes and one minute. We are not yet on the fifth question and it is almost 11.10 a.m., although we were late starting. I call Deputy Barry.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Some 130 people died over ten weeks, more than 60 Palestinians were killed in one day and more than 1,300 were injured in one day. It is State-sponsored murder. The Tánaiste had talks but what about actions? The expulsion of the Israeli ambassador is something I would support. The Tánaiste does not support it, although he expelled the Russian ambassador on far lesser grounds.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I did not. The Russian ambassador was not expelled.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Okay, it was diplomats. The Tánaiste knows the point I am making. The State buys arms from Israel, some €14.7 million worth in the past decade, including bullets, drones and targeting devices, material which is marketed as being "battle proven" on "human test subjects". We trade with those who profit from the murder of Palestinian people and buy weaponry which may well have been tested against Palestinian people. Does the Tánaiste not feel it is time to go beyond words and take action, and end the buying of these weapons from the Israeli state?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Barry for observing the time. I call the Tánaiste.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My sole interest in the engagement we have been having with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Government is to try to advance the cause of Palestinians, whom I believe are victims of an extraordinary injustice. Ireland needs to do everything it can at government level to try to advance efforts to achieve a two-state solution in time and to try to prevent violence and bloodshed.

That is what I have been doing. I have made it clear that I do not believe that boycotts and protest from a Government are the way to advance those efforts. There are many who do that in the NGO community and so on. That is a matter for them. I am a Government Minister and the approach I have taken over the past 12 months is one of direct and blunt engagement to try to ensure that the interests of Irish people in trying to advance a way forward for a peace process in the Middle East are as effective as possible. In time, the approach I have taken will prove to be the right one.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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The Minister says that his sole interest is to advance the cause of the Palestinians and he mentioned the importance of preventing violence and bloodshed. I ask him about the Irish companies that exported nearly €6.5 million worth of goods to Israel since 2011. This was both military hardware and materials that have a dual use. What have these weapons been used for? Can the Minister give a guarantee that they were not used in the 14 May massacre? Does this not represent a stain on the reputation of this country that there are people here profiting from the blood of the Palestinian people? Why is the Minister not prepared to say that he would support an arms embargo, that he is prepared to ban this trade and he would support a similar ban internationally?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland cannot impose a trade embargo on Israel on a unilateral basis. Trade is a competence of the EU and the European Commission. I believe the Deputy is asking me to do something I cannot do, although I stand to be corrected on that. What I am focusing on are issues where I can have an involvement, such as advocating for products that can alleviate suffering in Gaza, advocating for increased funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, because some have decided to reduce funding to it. UNRWA supports millions of Palestinians, not just in Gaza but in the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon as well. We will put a lot of Irish taxpayers' money into Gaza in terms of energy projects and we have been advocating for quite some time to find a way, through negotiation, to remove the blockade by sea of Gaza. That is something that has received some media coverage in the last 24 hours and it aligns with the thinking we have been advocating for a long time. The point I am making is that I do not disagree with the frustration and concern that is being expressed in this House regarding innocent people who have been shot and killed in recent weeks. What I am interested in, however, is finding political solutions that can reduce that bloodshed in the future and can provide some hope to Palestinians as opposed to simply looking at protest as a forum of trying to bring about change.