Don Lydon (Fianna Fail)

There are two parties to this conflict. On the one hand, we have a Jewish state that was carved out of territory that did not belong to it. Israel is very tough in all its dealings with others. I have been to that country and the attitude of its people is that they will never again endure another Auschwitz or Bergen-Belsen.

However, I do not believe Israel is a viable state because it is heavily dependent on the support of the United States. It is tough in its dealings not only with Muslims but also with Christians. I understand it is no longer possible to build a Christian church there. Each year the state encroaches further on the land of the Franciscans near Galilee and other places. These people are no saints, as they say in Donegal.

On the other hand, we have a group of people who have been dispossessed and are living in camps and enduring terrible conditions for almost four generations. I have been to Jericho, where the Israeli armed forces rolled up in tanks and gave the Palestinian residents 20 minutes to leave before their homes were bulldozed and the land given to settlers from other countries. The international community advised the Palestinians to engage in the democratic process by electing a Government. They did so and the Government they elected is led by Hamas. Like Islamic Jihad and perhaps Hizbollah, Hamas is a radical movement whose raison d'être is the destruction of the state of Israel.

Nevertheless, we cannot tolerate the arrest of democratically elected parliamentarians no matter who they are. Whether they are right wing or left wing makes no difference. A similar situation arose in Austria some time ago, and in Allende's Chile many years ago where because they did not approve of the person elected, the authorities did their best to oust him. At the Inter-Parliamentary Union meetings we attend all over the world, participants are always in agreement that democratically elected persons must not be removed from office by undemocratic means. If the Israelis do not like the Palestinian Government, that is too bad.

At the same time, we must appeal to Hamas to work with the Israelis to devise some means of agreeing a two-state system. I can see no other way forward. The situation is not entirely hopeless. There are many people working for peace. I pay special tribute to Mr. Pat Hynes who is in the Visitors Gallery today. He has worked on his own initiative to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, organising conferences and so on in an effort to get then talking to each other. There are many people who do wonderful work in Israel, East Timor and elsewhere. The situation is not without hope; it is a question of negotiating to secure the safety of both nations. The Israeli authorities react very violently to even imagined infringements and Hamas is not much better when it responds by lobbing missiles into Israeli territory. The approach outlined by the Minister in his speech is the only way forward.

I can find little to fault in the Labour Party's excellent motion. I do not see much difference between it and the amendment. We should try to work together on issues such as this. Our shared objective is the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. If there is no peace in that territory, there can be no peace in the rest of Europe and beyond.