Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I hope there will be many pleasantries between us in the future. I also wish to condemn the murders by the Israeli Defence Forces and the Government of Israel for its actions in recent days. It is not only the last number of days but has been ongoing since 1947 when Palestinians were evicted from their homes close to Jerusalem. Those of us who have been to the West Bank and to the Gaza Strip have seen the hardship that these people go through. It is not only the community in Gaza, where farmers and fishermen are curtailed in their everyday work, but also in the West Bank. It is Israel's policy not to have a two-state solution. Israel's policy is to have one state that ends at the border with Jordan, at the Golan Heights and in the Sinai desert, and they want to push the Palestinians out of Gaza in order that the sea can be their other boundary. We must be strong in our condemnation of that. I welcome that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade summoned the ambassador today. We should bring the Minister to the House to report on what he said to the ambassador on this matter.

People have asked what we can do. I recall some years ago, writing to the European Commission on produce coming from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israeli settlers continue to push Palestinian farmers out of the West Bank. I ask that we would label produce from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and that we ban that settlement produce.