Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I ask the Acting Leader to arrange for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, to come to the House for a debate on the conflict in the Middle East. In the past week, 100 Palestinians have been slaughtered and three Israelis have been killed as well. A senior Israeli Minister said that the Palestinians would bring a holocaust upon themselves. By firing long-range missiles into Ashkelon, which is 10 km north of Gaza, Hamas is tempting fate by putting it up to the Israelis despite the Israelis' superior firepower. Condoleezza Rice was to arrive there today and it is to be hoped she will help to resolve the situation. The Americans have taken little interest in the past seven years but it is important that this House should have an opportunity to debate the issue again. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the West Bank region of Palestine, has called off discussions with the Israelis, although the Israelis are still prepared to talk. It is a very complex issue but, as convenor of the Friends of Palestine in the Oireachtas, it is incumbent on me to raise it. I also welcome the fact that members of the foreign affairs committee are in the region at present. I hope they will assist in promoting dialogue between all the parties in that troubled region. However, I condemn the activities of the Israeli Government and Ehud Olmert in the slaughter of the innocents in Palestine.