Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is not exactly a balanced view on Irish-British relations coming from Sinn Féin, and not for the first time. With regard to the issue of substance the Senator has raised, I made two statements on behalf of the Government, on 31 March and on 9 April, on the recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border. I called on all parties to show restraint, in particular on the use of force by Israel against demonstrators. Any country is entitled to defend its borders, but use of force must be proportionate to any immediate threat. The number of people injured by live ammunition has been very troubling, and I support the calls by the EU and the UN Secretary General for an independent and transparent investigation into these events.

Events and images such as we have seen in recent weeks from Gaza are of great concern to many people, including myself, and I understand that there are very strong feelings that something must be done. I agree with those feelings. The situation in Gaza is unsustainable. I was there a couple of months ago, and I have been to Gaza on more than one occasion. I know the tension on the Israeli-Gaza border. I have witnessed it and spoken to people on that border. The issue here is how do we change all of this. How does Ireland influence and understand the perspective of Palestinians and Israelis with a view to trying to see a political solution which, ultimately, is the only way in which Palestinians living in Gaza will find some hope for the future and will allow them to turn away from demonstration, violence, frustration and tension because of the circumstances they find themselves in and the conditions in which they are currently living within Gaza, which are totally unacceptable?

Every time I go to Gaza and meet people, or meet people from there, they are educated people who understand exactly what is going on in the world. As a result of this, the depth of their frustration in terms of the restrictions they live under in Gaza is unbearable. That being said, what we need to focus on as politicians and as governments is to look at ways in which we can change that. Rather than simply gestures and actions of protest, we should be finding a way to ensure we contribute to political dialogue that brings about change. That is what I am about. The idea that by expelling an Israeli ambassador and, therefore, shutting an Israeli embassy in Dublin actually helps the efforts to find political solutions to problems that have been going on for decades simply does not stack up in my view. In diplomatic language, expelling an ambassador essentially means one is no longer interested in dialogue, and certainly that is not the approach of this Government and it is not my approach either. With respect, in my view, to take that approach would do nothing except offer a gesture of solidarity to Palestinians in the short term, but then we would be unable to help them in the medium term, which is what I would like to do, in our quest for a two-state solution that is fair to both Israelis and Palestinians. I intend to continue to talk to the Israeli Government and to the Israeli ambassador in Dublin, as I have done, on these issues and to the Palestinian ambassador here. I will continue to talk to Palestinian political leaders as well, as I have done on numerous occasions since becoming Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. I am interested in political solutions to very difficult problems that result in violence, discrimination and the totally unacceptable conditions within the occupied territories that Palestinians find themselves living in. I am afraid that the approach suggested by Senator Gavan would take Ireland's efforts in terms of changing that backwards rather than forwards.