Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House. The political dispensation in the Middle East has changed with the electoral success of Hamas and the new Administration elected in Israel. However, the central problems remain and I concur with the Minister's closing remarks to the effect that we must remain focussed on the two state solution, which is central to hopes of a long-term solution to the political crisis in the Middle East.

This issue draws a certain resonance from our political situation, where strife has existed on our island for the past 30 years on the physical level and for the past 70 years on a political level. At a time when we are making progress on a peaceful resolution to that long-running dispute we hope that the same political attention and courage will be shown in the Middle East. The problems facing the Middle East are a mirror image of those we faced in Ireland, where one community recognises the right of another to exist and both communities agree on how they can be governed in a peaceful fashion. While the scale and complexity of the Middle East problem are much greater than our own, we can learn from each other.

I concur with most of what the Minister outlines but I have difficulty with the approach of the EU to withdrawal of aid to the Palestinian Authority. The original decision to suspend aid was a mistake. A growing humanitarian crisis is being faced by the Palestinian people and the EU had been a beacon of hope to them in trying to grant some degree of certainty in everyday life and providing a reasonable livelihood. The withdrawal of aid is a major blow to those people. I can appreciate the step was taken as a direct result of the decision to put the trust of the Palestinian people in Hamas. The election was free and fair and, although we may not like the decision, we must accept the will of the Palestinian people. It is not good to send the signal that if the European Union does not like election results or the election of certain people, it will try to penalise those people in some way. All this is happening in the context of the ongoing political crisis in the Middle East. Trying to build the peace is exceptionally difficult and the European Union must try to maintain its role as the honest broker. If it is seen almost to punish people for an electoral result, it will not help the neutral stance which it is generally able to adopt during the negotiations.

In addition to the crisis caused by the withdrawal of European Union aid, there is also the problem of custom duties being withheld by the Israeli authorities. As a result, the Palestinian Authority is now unable to pay for vital services. Payments for 140,000 Palestinian Authority employees are delayed. Many of my colleagues in the Oireachtas, particularly the members of the European and foreign affairs committees, have visited the region in the past two or three years and have seen at first hand the difficulties being faced by the people there. We are aware of how valuable the aid programmes are and the difference they make.

I hope the European Union will revisit its thinking in this regard and restore aid at the earliest possible date. If people have some degree of normality in their lives, particularly with regard to their income and livelihoods, it creates a better backdrop for trying to secure some degree of political progress. I hope the European Union will not remain so shortsighted in its thinking, as I believe the withdrawal of aid is a shortsighted and, in the long run, negative decision.

The Minister referred to the roadmap proposal agreed in 2002. This has been debated in the House on a number of occasions and all Members concur with the Minister's analysis that it is still the best way forward. We cannot move away from the absolute necessity for full international recognition for the state of Israel and full agreement on a permanent Palestinian state. In that regard, although the Minister did not mention it, I am sure he is as appalled as all normal people must be at the recent comments of the new Iranian President that Israel should be wiped off the map. When he made the same comments a number of months ago, everybody condemned it although we believed that the remarks were so off the stage that they could be ignored. That is why it was not just disappointing but deeply disturbing that within the past two weeks he again reiterated his view as to what should happen the state of Israel.

These shocking, inflammatory comments must be condemned by all right-thinking people. I am sure the European Union is making its displeasure with and objection to those comments known. It is not politically acceptable that a Head of State can call for another state to be wiped off the map. The state of Israel has a right to exist in a peaceful fashion, just as the Palestinian people can, rightly, expect and demand that a Palestinian state can exist and be secured in a peaceful fashion.

On the other side of the political equation, the Minister referred to the security wall. I repeat what I said on previous occasions, that it is a negative political decision by the Israeli authorities to continue the construction of the so-called security wall. While it might provide some degree of physical security, that security is short term in its extent and purpose. The imposition of that security wall creates further division and bitterness among the Palestinian people. It is surprising that the efforts of the international community to get the Israeli Government to desist have been so unsuccessful at both European Union level and within the United States Administration, a long-term ally of the Israeli Government. It is entitled to be an ally of the Israeli Government but it should put far more pressure on the Israelis with regard to this security wall, which will cause nothing but long-term distress, difficulty and further political conflict.

However, I concur with the Minister's sentiments that the roadmap is central to bringing peace to the Middle East. The Irish have a strong affinity with the Palestinian people but at the time of the creation of the state of Israel there was a close affinity between the people who built the Israeli state and Irish politicians. Many of the people who built the Israeli state would have looked to Irish politicians of a previous era to learn how statehood could be gained and a nation built. We have a natural affinity and connection with both the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples and we must try to use it constructively to ensure they begin to respect each other in a more formal fashion and that there is a respect for each other's right to exist. There must be agreement to maintain the partial ceasefire that is in place, to build upon it, to secure the borders, to give certainty and long-term security to the state of Israel and to give long-term certainty by way of statehood to the Palestinian people.

I wish the Minister well in his endeavours. He has the support of every Member of the House in taking whatever steps Ireland, as a small nation, can at EU and UN level to bring a solution to this long-term problem. With regard to our problems on this island, we hope that in the reasonably near future we can put the past behind us. It must be the strong international desire that the same can be done in the Middle East. One associates a number of negative words with the Middle East, such as "powder keg" and "suicide bomber". The conflict has lasted for 50 years so we must redouble our efforts to bring this dreadful period of conflict and strife to a conclusion. It is a little like the Northern Ireland issue in that what is needed on all sides is respect, sensitivity, dialogue and courage. A little of that is being shown at present but those essential qualities must be maximised.