Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

The Israeli Government and the IDF dropped some 300,000 cluster bombs, mainly in civilian areas. I understand there is no international legal prohibition on this. However, there are moves to introduce such a prohibition and it will not be before time. One could not help but be moved by stories, graphic photographs and television footage that we have seen of innocent south Lebanese husbands, daughters, sisters and children who have been incapacitated as a result of stepping on these outrageous pieces of ordnance.

The outcome of the war has been hailed by Hizbollah as a victory over Israel. This poses a considerable challenge to a weak central government in which Hizbollah holds two cabinet positions. The society is still marked by deep inter-communal tensions. The challenge of disarmament remains. Sheikh Nazrallah claimed at a rally in Beirut recently that the organisation still holds 20,000 rockets. The United Nations Secretary General has stated that the disarmament of Hizbollah will only be possible as part of the political process.

There are also territorial disputes remaining, particularly the status of the Shebaa Farms, which the UN has concluded were on Syrian territory, but those and other matters will have to be resolved in the context of a comprehensive settlement involving Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

We must support the efforts of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and those of our Government as outlined by the Minster of State, Deputy Treacy, in his contribution. Not only must we support the Prime Minister and his Government but we must support them in reasserting their authority in the wake of the war. They will require strong international support. Unfortunately, due to the complex power sharing arrangements between the diverse religious groups in place since the end of the civil war in 1989, successive Governments have been inherently weak and fractious. That lack of a strong central authority has been exploited both by neighbouring states such as Syria and groups such as Hizbollah.

I welcome the EU-Lebanon ENP action plan agreed at the Stockholm Conference for Lebanon's early recovery on 31 March, which provides an agreed framework through which the EU can assist the Government in implementing its reform agenda. The territorial integrity of the sovereign state of Lebanon must be restored and strengthened and the people of all Lebanon allowed to rebuild their lives in peace, security and prosperity, free of outside interference by proxy armies or those who have interfered in the affairs of that country to the detriment of its people and of the wider Middle East.

In the aftermath of the war, the scale of the humanitarian disaster which has befallen the people of the region cannot be underestimated. While the majority of internally displaced people have returned to their homes earlier than expected following the ceasefire, the immediate humanitarian concern I raised earlier but want to repeat because it is an outrage to humanity, is the existence of thousands of unexploded ordinance in the cluster bombs, which at the time of my research had claimed the lives of some 12 people and dozens wounded. The consequences may be even worse now.

Senior UN figures have condemned Israel for using such weapons and I, too, share that condemnation. It is unacceptable in any theatre of war, especially when it is directed at a civilian population. The Israelis say the reason they dropped them in that location was because Hizbollah fighters were operating out of civilian locations. That is unacceptable. The vast majority of that ordinance was dropped by the Israeli air force in the final days of the conflict, which makes it even more unpalatable. Knowing it would have to pull out, that was the legacy it has left to the innocents of south Lebanon.

Several countries are currently co-ordinating their efforts at the UN and in Geneva for the negotiation of a legally binding instrument that addresses the humanitarian concerns posed by cluster munitions. I hope the Minister of State, if he has an opportunity to reply, will endorse that Ireland fully supports that initiative.

The Israeli Government has not yet adequately explained the reason its fighter jets demolished a clearly marked UN observation post in south Lebanon during the war, killing several UN personnel on peacekeeping duties. That happened despite the urgent appeals — nine in all — to the IDF commanders on the day of the bombings informing them of the UN presence. We await the outcome of the internal investigation by Israel with great interest.

Ireland has a particular interest in this matter because the urgent appeals that were sent to the commanders on the day came from an Irish UN staff officer who, by the mercy of God, was outside the building. Had he been inside it he would have been killed and we would have had another State funeral for yet another Irish peacekeeper while the Israelis continue to deny that it was anything other than an accident.

Any debate on Lebanon cannot ignore the developing situation in Palestine and Israel, to which the Minister of State referred. The proposed meeting between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas is to be welcomed with a view to relaunching negotiations. There was an announcement by President Abbas on an agreement to form a government of national unity between the Fatah and Hammas factions. However, recent events suggest that President Abbas is finding it extremely difficult to agree on a coalition government with Hammas and he is now contemplating calling early elections to perhaps re-establish Fatah. If it leads to some political stability, however, it is to be welcomed.

We should support the Minister's call for a freezing of all settlement activity, including natural growth in settlements. The decision by Ministers of the EU not to recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by both parties, and the decision by the EU to expand the temporary international mechanisms, again referred to by the Minister, whereby substantial resources have already been channelled directly to the Palestinian people, are to be welcomed. We call on Israel to resume transfers of withheld Palestinian tax, as the Minister has done, and custom revenues, some €450 million in all. Israel should, as a humanitarian gesture, immediately reopen the Rafah and all other border crossings, and allow them remain open.