Seanad debates

Wednesday, 5 July 2006

5:00 pm

Photo of David NorrisDavid Norris (Independent)

I was appalled by the speech I have just heard. It was extraordinarily one-sided and completely neglectful of the human rights of the Palestinian people. I have always supported the right of the state of Israel to exist. I would like to think the Government could do something positive by quietly facilitating a meeting between some of the leaders of the opposing sides in an out-of-the-picture situation. They must meet directly.

The attitude of the Israeli Government is perfectly clear. I once introduced Mr. Olmert's brother for a briefing session here. When he arrived at the briefing, 50% of the audience were pro-Israel. By the time he left, 100% were anti-Israel. His brother is no bloody different. In recent days Mr. Olmert, stated "I want no-one [not soldiers, not guerillas but no-one] to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what it feels like". Well, they do.

I am on the side of the victims and of human rights, not just of Palestinians but of Israelis — I would like to think everyone in the House was on that side also. The Israeli Interior Minister, Ronny Bar-On stated that it was the Israeli intention in attacking Haniya's office to compromise the Hamas Government's ability to rule. Where does that leave democracy?

It is an astonishing and dreadful situation. Irish Christian and relief agencies have expressed their horror at the situation and its impact on the civilian population, who are in nothing less than an open-air concentration camp in Gaza. Thirty-four Palestinian civilians have been killed, leaving civilian casualties at a rate of four to one between the sides. Have we any notion of what an asymmetrical war is? Israel is administering collective punishment, which is illegal under international law.

I have been asked by Christian Aid to ask the following questions on the record. Will the Government recognise we are facing a humanitarian crisis which is deteriorating at an alarming rate? Will it respond accordingly? What is it doing to ensure international law is being upheld on all sides? It is not doing anything. Will the Government make a clear statement that only negotiations based on UN resolutions and international law, not unilateral moves by Israel, can bring lasting peace to both Israelis and Palestinians?

When Ireland held the Presidency of the European Union, I asked that we should move to implement in its entirety the external association agreement, which gives favourable trading status to Israel, because human rights protocols are attached to that agreement. We have done nothing. There are massive daily infringements of the most basic fundamental human rights yet nothing is done. Apart from one or two points, the amendment is just pious waffle.

A recent editorial in The Irish Times stated:

The kidnap of an Israeli soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, by Palestinian militants provoked an Israeli military occupation of Gaza, collective punishment of civilians there who are deprived of electricity, and the arrest of dozens of Hamas ministers and leaders in the West Bank. These are disproportionate actions in response to the kidnap.

I agree. However, what is the difference between a kidnap and an arrest? The Israeli army entered Palestinian territory and arrested or kidnapped politicians. I am amazed the House is not inflamed about this issue. I am a member of the Interparliamentary Union and have attended four of its meetings. This is one of the items that is always on the agenda. Politicians are supposed to be immune from this kind of bullying. From what the Israeli Interior Minister has said, the Israeli intention is perfectly clear, namely, to destabilise and destroy.

Mr. Bush, Israel's patron, describes it as "regime change". It is a frightening comment on democracy that because we do not like the people who are elected, we can get rid of them. I do not particularly like Hamas. As a gay man, I am certain I would not last ten minutes with them. However, that does not mean I can countermand the sovereign authority given to Hamas by the people of Gaza.

I extend my sympathy to the family of Corporal Gilad Shalit. It is an awful situation and must be horrifying for him, sitting there as a pawn. However, everything that is done is making the situation worse. The prisoners' document was important, despite the way it was airily dismissed by Senator Mooney. I raised it on the Order of Business the day it emerged and it clearly and historically showed a degree of movement which should have been encouraged. It was the wreckers on both sides who subverted the document. They also outmanoeuvred the Palestinian President, who was appealing over the heads of the armed factions to the Palestinian people. Now, by this action, and I believe deliberately, the population in Gaza has been forced to support Hamas because it is the legitimate Government.

Consider what has happened to the power stations, an issue I also raised. It is not just that the people do not have electricity to read the Koran at night; they do not have pumps for water or sewerage. I know this because to his immense credit, my ex-partner, Ezra Yitzhak, has been assisting in this area. I know the level of degradation to which the Israeli Government is trying to drive these people by destroying sewerage facilities, water supplies and health clinics through measures such as planning permissions and judicial restrictions in an area over which it has no legitimate control. However, nobody in Europe utters a squeak.

Why is this happening? It is because of the dark shadow of the criminal regime entrenched in Washington——

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