Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The Government's views on this have been made clear. The use of such a degree of force and, in particular, the use of heavy weapons such as phosphorous in built up areas is completely unacceptable. Regardless of what efforts were made to minimise civilian casualties, in these circumstances, large-scale damage and civilian deaths were simply unavoidable and inevitable.

We have also drawn attention to specific aspects of the operation, including the use of incendiary munitions and the attacks on UN facilities. I pay tribute again to the director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, Mr. John Ging, and, through him, to all his staff who worked so hard during the crisis and who were exemplar in terms of the humanitarian effort. The Government, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, has raised questions about the legality under international law of some of these actions. It needs to be said that the firing of missiles on Israeli towns is, beyond doubt, a breach of international law. The breach of law by a terrorist group or a group that has been or is in the process of moving away from terrorism cannot be an excuse for a Government to also breach international law.

Large-scale fighting in Gaza came to an end with unilaterally declared ceasefires on 18 January, which we all greeted with relief. However, the truce is fragile, which should give us cause for concern. The fragile truce is continually endangered by low level breaches. As this is a tinderbox region, even a small incident can escalate quickly into major violence. We are concerned that a simple de facto truce could not last long. Talks brokered by the Government of Egypt, which has played a very significant role in all these events, have sought to bring about a more lasting agreed ceasefire and to put in place the necessary elements identified in UN Security Council Resolution 1860 of 8 January, including full and sustained opening of border crossings and an end to all rocket attacks on southern Israel.

There are hopeful, though weak, signs that an agreement on these terms may now be close. This would be a very important advance for securing the future of the people of Gaza, and of Israel, and to start laying the conditions for a longer-term understanding so that disaster does not recur every year or two, as has been the case in this region. I appeal today to the leaders on both sides to put their people first and to give peace a chance to blossom in an arid region. Everything is worth doing if it leads to agreement. There is no doubt that in the long term the solution will not be found at the end of bullets or guns but through talks. People who wish to live in close proximity must talk to each other. It would be tragic if this ceasefire, like that of June 2008 which lasted for six months, were seen by some leaders principally as an opportunity to reload and prepare for a future conflict. That would be condemnatory of the motives of both sides.

There are continuing serious concerns in relation to Gaza. First and foremost, the humanitarian situation continues to be fragile, with insufficient access by the Israeli authorities for humanitarian agencies and supplies. The Government again strongly urges the Israeli Government to remove the unjustified restrictions on humanitarian and commercial traffic into Gaza. These conditions create the conditions in which terrorism will grow. This comes as no surprise to us. We know what happens when people are forced to live in ghettos — it becomes a powder cake and the recruitment ground for terrorism. The lifting of the restriction should include in particular the necessary materials to allow for reconstruction of Gaza, including homes, economic infrastructure and utilities. One cannot keep a population of that size imprisoned in an area which has none of the things we take for granted in terms of civilised living.

There remains longer-term legal and political issues about the conduct of the war which cannot be simply forgotten. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has added Ireland's voice to those calling for independent investigation of some of the incidents during the war and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has taken the lead in establishing a panel to investigate incidents affecting UN facilities. It is clear and obvious that international law was breached in those cases.

Ireland believes that events have shown that we were right last year to argue for a linkage between an upgrade in EU-Israel relations, which we support in principle, as we do in respect of all our Mediterranean neighbours, and progress on key political issues of mutual concern. It will be recalled that the Government was criticised, not in the House, but in some quarters for suggesting there must be a linkage. I reiterate that there must be a linkage if we are to improve and upgrade relations between the European Union and Israel, which I support. However, there must be reciprocal recognition of the sensitivities of the European Union in these matters.

Ireland has consistently sought to keep the international political focus on the hard work of pursuing the path to peace rather than allowing itself to be always dominated by the latest crisis, which the Middle East never fails to supply. Indeed, we need to be aware that many ill-intentioned people actively seek to distract us. However ghastly Gaza has been and however much we need to give attention to its continuing aftermath, no-one can doubt that in the long run the only way to avert a repeat of these dreadful scenes is to work actively to assist the reaching comprehensive peace between Israel and its neighbours that will serve the people of Israel, Gaza, Syria and the whole region. War serves no cause. The vision of two states living side by side in peace, which we need to keep before us at all times, is the only viable way forward.

There are many factors in flux now that will alter the dynamic of that process, for good or ill, in 2009. We await the formation of a new Israeli Government following the elections on 10 February, which could be a lengthy process and may cause further problems. It must be said that the continuing fragmentation of Israeli politics is a concern at this crucial time. While that is an internal matter, it is a reality. The key point is that the new Israeli Government, whatever its political make-up, should be encouraged to adhere to the commitments made in the past by Israel on behalf of its people, in particular the commitments made at Annapolis, and to continue to work genuinely for a settlement which is now achievable.

Perhaps just as important but even more difficult is the process on the Palestinian side. Open hostility between the Fatah and Hamas movements has played into the hands of those who do not wish to see the well-being of the Palestinian side progressed. Egypt is working from its unique position in the region to try to bring together the two sides to devise a way forward. I have seen at first hand some of the diplomatic efforts made by the Egyptians and they have not received anything like due recognition internationally or——