Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I believe in non-violence but when one refuses to accept the elected Government, refuses to accept UN resolutions and declares that 15 year old girls are unfortunate collateral damage when leaders of a movement are targeted, one puts oneself outside international law. This country must restore its reputation as an unequivocal champion of human rights. It is time to move beyond so-called even-handedness. The oppressors are the Israelis and their allies, the victims are the people of Palestine. What the victims have done is often awful but it is a product of being victims. I ask the Leader to consider allowing some of us to state Ireland's moral position before the summer recess, namely, that the abuse of human rights and the deliberate or indifferent killing of civilians is always wrong and cannot be excused whether perpetrated by a movement like Hamas or by the Israeli Government, which claims to be democratic.