Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and appreciate that. I begin by addressing the Syrian crisis. I am appalled at the escalation of violence in Syria in recent weeks. The ongoing conflict there has created one of the worse humanitarian crises in modern times. We know approximately 500,000 people have been killed in the conflict and countless numbers maimed. An estimated eight million people have been displaced inside Syria and 4.5 million refugees are beyond the Syrian border.

Sinn Féin has condemned, and continues to condemn, the Turkish and Saudi funding, arming and training of extremist jihadist groups in Syria. We have strongly criticised the United States, Britain, Israel and France's decision to intervene militarily in this war. We also echo the abhorrence of United Nations at the complete lack of adherence to international law by all sides in this conflict, including the Syrian Government's action against civil protests.

In recent days, we have seen eastern Ghouta come under sustained bombardment and aid convoys have been unable to reach those who desperately need humanitarian supplies. There is an urgent need for a ceasefire. In recent week's the Turkish army has also invaded Afrin and carried out sustained military attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians and Kurdish combatants from the YekÌneyên Parastina Gel, YPG, who were successfully fighting Daesh.

This invasion is a breach of international law and will undoubtedly hamper the fight against Daesh. This should not be a complete surprise given the many questions surrounding Turkey's covert support for radical jihadist groups in Syria. Ireland, as a priority, must assist efforts to end the conflict, persecute those suspected of committing war crimes and tackle the huge humanitarian crisis this brutal conflict continues to cause. We must continue to send aid to Syria and support humanitarian efforts in there and in neighbouring countries.

Turning to Palestine, I want to reiterate Sinn Féin's call for the release of the Palestinian teenager, Ms Ahed Tamimi. She remains in an Israeli military prison while she awaits trial for slapping an Israeli soldier who entered her illegally-occupied village in the West Bank. Ms Tamimi was reacting after her 15 year-old cousin, Mr. Mohammed Tamimi, was shot in the head with a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier. He had emergency surgery to save his life and still needs further surgery to reconstruct his skull.

Last week, heavily armed Israeli soldiers broke into his home in the middle of the night and arrested him. He was taken in for interrogation, in just another example of the apartheid Israeli state arresting, detaining and interrogating children. Mr. Tamimi was put under so much pressure in this interrogation that he stated that he was not shot at all but instead fell off his bike. This lie was repeated by the Israeli military command and some within the Government. It shows the extreme lengths the Israeli Government will go to in an attempt to shield its horrific actions, continue its illegal occupation of Palestine and discredit all those who challenge it. Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, condemn Mr. Tamimi's arrest and interrogation? Will he protest it directly with his Israeli counterpart and call for Ms Tamimi's release?

War in Yemen has claimed over 10,000 lives and created such devastation that the country is continually on the brink of famine and in desperate need of humanitarian aid. More than 11 million children, nearly every child in Yemen, now needs daily humanitarian assistance. I welcome the Government's response in supporting aid and humanitarian efforts in the country. However, we need to do more to end the conflict. Ireland should support calls to place an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia until it ends its brutal attacks on Yemen and lifts its crippling blockade.

We must also look at what is happening at Shannon Airport. In the first six months of 2017, 427 permits were approved by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, for military-contracted planes to stop off and fly through Irish airspace. We know from the permits that these planes were on their way to Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Is a coincidence that all these countries are members of the Saudi-led coalition waging a savage war against the Yemeni people?I genuinely do not understand how, on the one hand, the Minister can do good work calling for humanitarian aid but, on the other, turn a blind eye to the fact that our airport in Shannon is actively engaged as a forward base in the perpetration of that war against the Yemeni people.

Speaking of Bahrain, is the Minister aware that the Bahraini human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, was sentenced to five years in prison last week for criticising the Bahraini Government in posts on Twitter in 2015. I am deeply concerned about Nabeel's prosecution and lengthy sentence. It shows that the Bahraini Government will go to severe lengths to crack down on even the smallest amount of free speech. We cannot be seen to tolerate such totalitarianism. All of us must be free to criticise authority and call out injustice when we see it. I call on the Minister to directly protest Nabeel's conviction with his Bahraini counterparts and to publicly speak out in favour of his immediate release.

I will conclude by speaking briefly on the subject of Catalonia. I am concerned that the Spanish Government is continuing to suspend home rule in Catalonia. Ministers in the previous Catalan Government remain in prison or in exile abroad and two Catalan civic society leaders remain in jail, all on serious charges of rebellion and sedition for holding or supporting a democratic referendum on independence. Their continued imprisonment and exile is completely unacceptable and anti-democratic. These prisoners should be released immediately and those in exile allowed to return home.