Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion tabled by Senator Ó Clochartaigh. I also commend and welcome the comments made by Senator Murnane O'Connor.

Last week we had a robust debate. I think all of us across the Chamber understood that charges were going to be frozen and that people would not have increases imposed on them. It would be very good and commendable if all of us could agree on this point now: this is not the case. I know from my contacts with the Greyhound company that people are in uproar about bin charges. We also know there have been 1,300 calls from the west. Let us get agreement on this issue. We must invite the Minister to come to the House to discuss the matter and, hopefully, we can do something right and helpful for all the people in the country.

I wish to raise an international issue. Yesterday, several of us stood and called on the Irish Government to demand the release of Ibrahim Halawa, who is imprisoned in Egypt. Today, I call on the Government to demand the release of Bilal Kayed, a 34-year old Palestinian activist who was imprisoned by the Israeli military occupation authority. He was imprisoned for being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an organisation banned by Israel. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for simply attending a protest and expressing his right to free speech. Earlier this month, on 13 June, he was set for release. However, the Israeli military occupation authority has now sentenced him to a further six months' imprisonment without trial. In protest against this disgraceful violation of international law, Bilal Kayed has entered a hunger strike. More than 65 fellow Palestinian prisoners have followed his example and declared an open-ended hunger strike in solidarity. Right now more than 715 Palestinians are imprisoned under what the Israeli authority calls administrative detention. This number includes several members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who are democratic representatives of the Palestinian people. This corrupt policy is used by the Israeli authorities to charge and detain Palestinians without trial and is a violation of the fourth Geneva Convention and international laws that guarantee fair trial standards.

Israel's overarching policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is to crush and fragment Palestinian society and drive Palestinians out of their homeland. The Israeli authorities are engaging in mass detentions, violating the human rights of Palestinian citizens and constructing new settlements. More than 600,000 Israeli settlers now occupy the West Bank. We want the Irish Government and the international community to stand up and publicly condemn Israel's use of so-called administrative detention, to demand that the Israeli authorities comply with international laws on human rights, and to respect the fundamental rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.