Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Given that time is limited and each Senator only has five minutes, I wish to state that I share the Minister's concerns about ISIS and Ukraine but I will focus my remarks on Palestine, particularly the motion passed by this House just over a month ago calling on the Government to recognise the state of Palestine. I thank the Minister for attending the House today. The Leader gave a commitment when we passed that motion that the Minister would come to the House to discuss the issue with us, so I welcome the fact that he is here. I would also like to thank Members on all sides of the House who supported the motion, because we passed it without a vote. It is essential that Ireland moves on this issue and recognises the state of Palestine without further delay. I hope the Minister will say more on this when he makes his concluding remarks. As he has noted, recognising Palestine will not of itself bring peace to the region. However, it is a strong statement of support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination. In the aftermath of Israel's latest assault on Gaza last summer, now more than ever, the Palestinian people need to know that they have real support in the international community.
It is also important that we do everything we can to bolster moderate Palestinian and Israeli forces and help them work for peace. As the Minister knows, the lack of progress in the endless peace talks - there have been talks in so many different guises since Oslo, all of which have brought about no resolution of the situation - have led to a lack of faith among many regarding political action as a way forward. This is very dangerous for all concerned. We are at a particular flashpoint where, if more action is not taken, things will deteriorate. We have seen that with the recent spate of violence.
I am sure the Minister is aware that recently, more than 650 prominent Israelis wrote to Members of the Dáil asking them to follow through. They welcomed the motion passed in the Seanad and called on the Dáil to pass a similar motion recognising Palestine. That letter was signed by former Israeli ministers and ambassadors, the former speaker of the Knesset, a Nobel laureate and retired army generals. In their letter, they expressed concerns about the continued political stalemate, the occupation and Israel's settlement activities. They stated that Israel's security and existence depend on the existence of a Palestinian state and that Ireland recognising the state of Palestine would advance the prospects for peace.
A total of 135 countries already recognise the state of Palestine, including, most recently, Sweden. Last Friday, I shared a platform at the UN with Swedish parliamentarians. The Swedish deputy secretary for foreign affairs addressed the meeting and explained the rationale behind her country's move to recognise Palestine. It was met with almost universal acclaim from all present, apart from the Israeli ambassador, who was particularly aggressive and rude in his response to her remarks. I thought she gave a very even-handed explanation of the reason Sweden acted as it did. It is driven by a desire to promote peace. There was universal acceptance in the room that this was a positive thing. In speaking, many members referred to the Seanad motion that was passed, among them the Palestinian ambassador and the chairman of the UN committee on Palestine, and called on us to move forward and take the same step. I hope the Minister will listen to Members of this House and do that.
While symbolic statements are significant, they are not enough. We must also do everything we can to make a Palestinian state a reality. I very much hope that the Security Council will agree a resolution soon setting out a clear deadline for Israel's withdrawal from Palestine. I know there are talks and that the Palestinians are lobbying hard to get support for that in the General Assembly and the Security Council. Such a resolution will only have real impact if it is backed up by proper monitoring and strong enforcement measures. We have seen how Israel has chosen to ignore Security Council resolutions for decades and how there have been no consequences. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Security Council did not just condemn the invasion, as it has condemned Israel's invasion of the West Bank several times over; it also acted to put in place sanctions to help bring an end to it. It is ridiculous at this stage that Israel has been militarily occupying Palestine for 50 years without any consequences. I welcome the article from the Minister and the Finnish minister for foreign affairs in which they state:

We have time and time again called on the Israeli authorities to end this settlement policy, which clearly contradicts international law. But commitment is nothing without action. Continuation of this policy must bring a strong response from the international community, including the EU, if our commitment to upholding international law is to be taken seriously.

I welcome that excellent article. I call on the Minister to deliver on that and to ensure that the EU takes real action. At the very least, we should ban settlement goods. It is ridiculous that we criticise the settlements consistently, pointing out that they are illegal, yet we help to make them economically viable by buying from them. It is complete hypocrisy. Ultimately, the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended until Israel starts to abide by international law. Unless Ireland and other countries are prepared to stand up and take real action, things will only deteriorate. I welcome the Minister's article. He asked for questions, and I will conclude with two.