Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will start today on behalf of the Dublin contingent by congratulating Mr. Joe Biden on his election to the US Presidency. I also congratulate Senator Kamala Harris on her election as US Vice President. Mr. Biden is a great friend of Ireland, as we all know, and he has stated categorically that the Good Friday Agreement cannot become a casualty of Brexit. That is a fantastic stance.

The destruction of the homes of 80 Palestinian Bedouins in the occupied West Bank under last week's blanket coverage of the US presidential election must be condemned by all right-thinking people. I invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, to the House today to explain the apparent contradiction between his condemnation of the Israeli destruction of a Palestinian village and his refusal to take any meaningful action. Describing the actions as brutal, violent and as clearly prohibited under international humanitarian law will not mean anything unless these words are accompanied by consequences.

Last week's demolition left 74 people, including 41 children, homeless during a pandemic and just as we approach winter. It repeated a grim pattern. Ireland and EU states give badly needed humanitarian aid to build homes and schools but the Israeli army then demolishes them. The Minister previously told the Dáil that EU states have sought €625,000 in compensation for demolished aid but how much has actually been recovered? Will we just repeat the process of giving money and building homes before watching them being demolished and then building them again? Is the definition of insanity not doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

Does the Minister believe the words of condemnation will be taken seriously? We have been criticising the process for decades but settlement expansion continues. Annexation is the reality on the ground and it has not been postponed, as many wrongly said during the summer.

Fine Gael was wrong to rely on the narrow and misguided opinion of the then Attorney General, Séamus Wolfe, in opposing the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, despite a long list of experts in EU law insisting we could pass the legislation. The Bill would see us move beyond more condemnation and it is badly needed now. The Palestinian people deserve actions and not words. I hope the relevant clause the programme for Government will be implemented before it is too late and the possibility of a Palestinian state has disappeared.