Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank Senator Ann Ormonde, the spokesperson on foreign affairs, for allowing me to lead off on this issue. I think the Irish people appreciate the Minister's great efforts in this matter because he has provided leadership not only in Europe but throughout the world in condemning the actions of the Israeli Government. On behalf of the Irish people, I express my sympathies to the families and friends of the dead and the wounded. I also pay tribute to those who participated in the flotilla trying to bring much needed aid to Gaza. My parliamentary colleagues, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Deputy Chris Andrews, along with parliamentarians from Germany, Sweden, Italy, Malaysia, Greece, Russia and Israel, made five attempts on Friday and Saturday to get from Cyprus by boat to join the flotilla 12 miles out in international waters. Owing to the continuous intervention of the Cypriot police and the politicians in Cyprus whose stated intention was that it was not in their strategic interests in the region to assist us in leaving Cyprus to join the flotilla, we were unable to do so.

The Minister has outlined to some degree the context in which the blockade occurred. It is interesting that a former Israeli Cabinet Minister, Tzipi Livni, described the withdrawal from Gaza as literally a case of leaving and throwing up the keys to see who would catch them. This was done on 11 September 2005 and in 2007 Hamas caught the keys. Israel then decided to lock down the borders and is now engaged in an illegal blockade of Gaza. It has prohibited thousands of items, including jam, fishing rods and paper. Mr. John Ging, a former captain in the Irish Defence Forces, is the UN Relief Work Agency's head representative in Gaza which has a population of 1.5 million and is the size of County Louth. Some 80% of the population rely on the United Nations for their survival and very existence. In a recent interview with the Guardian newspaper Mr. Ging described the situation in Gaza as "a sub-human existence."

The flotilla consisted of Turkish, Greek and Irish boats, with crews comprising 40 nationalities, which converged in international waters. As the Minister stated, we know that nine people are dead and many more are injured. Earlier today the Minister and I spoke with Mr Shane Dillon who was on Challenger I. He told us what he had seen on the Turkish ship when it was boarded by the Israeli defence forces. Tomorrow he will appear before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs to let Ireland and the world know of his experience.

The Israeli Government has tried to portray a version of events that is less than truthful. It has stated Israeli forces were attacked first and fired on initially. In the fog of war events are often portrayed thus by warring sides. We have seen it happen here. On Bloody Sunday in 1972 human rights marchers in Derry were portrayed as carrying guns and attacking the British security forces. This was stated many times to blacken the names of peaceful protestors. In the coming weeks, however, the Saville report will exonerate the people concerned.

The Israelis have repeatedly said they did not break international law in boarding ships in international waters. That is because they have not signed up to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which forbids the boarding of ships that are of no threat. The Israelis say they had offered the flotilla which I was due to board the right to bring goods to Israel or Turkey and that they would transfer them to Gaza. They have failed to mention, however, that they have a long list of prohibited items. For example, the cement being carried on the MV Rachel Corrie would not have been transferred to Gaza. In addition, toys would not have been transferred either. Most of the material aboard the flotilla would not have reached Gaza if the ships had landed in Israel and the Israelis were to transport the items to the Occupied Territories.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, said the flotilla would not even bring a letter from the mother of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by militants four years ago who has been held without access to the Red Cross for that period. However, this claim is false. When the Free Gaza movement was asked if it would do so, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, Deputy Chris Andrews and I contacted Gilad Shalit's family solicitor in Jerusalem to tell them that we would send an email outlining that we would bring the letters and hand them personally to the Red Cross or Mr. John Ging at the United Nations to try to get them to Mr. Shalit. However, it was portrayed as if the flotilla did not have the heart to do the right thing.

What next? As Senators opposite have pointed out, the Israeli ambassador has refused to appear before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. When will he come? He can name any time and date on which he can explain why Israel has done this to the international community. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs have sought safe passage for the MV Rachel Corrie whose passengers include the former UN assistant secretary general, Mr. Denis Halliday, and the Nobel peace laureate, Ms Mairead Maguire.

Ireland has experienced what Israel and Palestine are going through. We know that genuine dialogue is the only way to achieve peace. The question is what has the Israeli Government done to the honourable State of Israel. What have the extremists in Israel done? They have brought dishonour to the name and people of Israel.