John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the speech by the Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to the United Nations Security Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49444/22]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister for his response to the speech that was made by the Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid recently in the UN, when he talked about his commitment to a two-state solution, and whether the Minister is aware that the Israeli actions on the ground absolutely do not compare with what the Israeli Prime Minister said.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I took careful note of the addresses of both Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations General Assembly in September. It was disheartening, but not surprising, that we heard two very different perspectives of the current state of play. At the same time, both leaders acknowledged the need to work towards a two-State solution, a point that was also underlined by the Taoiseach in his remarks to the General Assembly. The need to redouble efforts in this regard was underlined by President Abbas and the Foreign Minister, Dr. Riad Malki, during their visit to Dublin in September. I assured them that Ireland stands ready to support all efforts to help resume credible negotiations aimed at achieving a just and lasting two-state solution. This was an issue that I discussed in a number of my bilateral engagements throughout UN High Level Week, including with my counterparts from Algeria, Qatar, Norway, Egypt and Jordan. Prime Minister Lapid’s speech recalled that a large majority of Israelis support the vision of a two-state solution and he repeated his own commitment to a two-state solution, which was welcome. Regrettably, however, we continue to witness a situation where Israeli actions on the ground undermine the prospects for progress. In recent months, we have seen the ongoing threat of evictions and demolitions in Masafer Yatta, the expansion of illegal Israel settlements and increases in violence and incursions by the Israeli security forces in the West Bank. The raids on six Palestinian NGOs in August resulted in a further reduction of the civil space in the occupied Palestinian territory for civil society organisations and human rights defenders, who play a critical role in our view, in promoting international law, peace, human rights and democratic values. This deteriorating security situation and the increasing number of casualties, including among civilians, is deeply concerning and underscores the urgent need for a political horizon and a path towards relaunching a peace process. As the House will be aware, supporting efforts to this end will remain a high priority for me and the Government in our bilateral engagements, as well as within the EU and the United Nations.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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Certainly, I view the Prime Minister's comments as more do to with the general elections that are due to take place in November, and an attempt to win over some Arab voices or voters living in Israel to try to secure his tenure in office. The Minister outlined all of the breaches of international law and the flagrant human rights violations, including the murder of journalists and the raid on the six civil society NGOs. We see the continued arbitrary detention of thousands of Palestinians, the expansion of illegal settlement expansions on a daily basis, forced evictions and demolitions, all continuing under the watch of the EU and the international community. What pressure is being brought to bear to ensure that the words of the Israeli Prime Minister are actually put into action?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Can I just say, first and foremost, that Prime Minister Lapid is personally committed to a two-state solution. I met him a number of times before he became Prime Minister, when he was foreign minister. Certainly, it is my view that he is committed to that outcome. Unfortunately, the government that he has been part of for the last number of years has allowed an awful lot of actions on the ground which make that achievement much more difficult, and has created increased tension between Israelis and Palestinians, some of which I outlined in my initial response to the Deputy. The aspirations and the words are welcome, but the actions that have taken place are contrary to that. I think there are potentially a number of reasons for that. The current government in Israel is made up of very different factions, which make compromise and consensus in relation to how to achieve a two-state solution very difficult to achieve. There will be elections in the coming weeks in Israel. Certainly, after that election, I hope we will be able to make real progress in a step towards a peace process that can help in achieving a two-state solution, but at the moment we seem to be a long way from there.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I do not think that it is just the make-up of the Israeli Government that is facilitating what is happening on the ground. I strongly believe that it is the failure of the international community to hold Israel to account that is emboldening Israel to carry out those illegal actions. We see it in some of the commentary from Liz Truss, who has stated that she is going to review moving the British Embassy to Jerusalem, a flagrant breach of international law. We also see it in the actions of the EU in proposing to reconvene the EU-Israel Association Council, which causes serious concern. Again, it appears Israel is being rewarded for its flagrant breaches of international law. A document of the association council, which I think has been leaked, includes not a single accountability measure and places not a single red-line demand upon Israel in respect of its illegal actions. Does the Minister agree that the international community is allowing Israel to continue to breach international law?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I certainly think the international community needs to do more. We are trying to find ways in which we can both encourage and push for that. The Deputy and I have had conversations about that both on and off the record in terms of how we might be able to do that, whether it is through our role on the UN Security Council or our role in the EU, and so on. I would say that Ireland is the most vocal EU country on this ongoing conflict, and we will continue to be so. We are looking for ways forward. One of the reasons why President Abbas came to Dublin, on his way to New York, was to talk to me and the Taoiseach about how Ireland could be more proactive in encouraging a new process and perhaps some new thinking around trying to recreate some momentum through political dialogue that can stabilise the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians and move us towards a two-state solution at some point in the future, which seems like a long way off today.

I accept the Deputy's point. The international community needs to do more together and countries such as Ireland are looking to galvanise that support.