Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his remarks. It is important to reiterate it is Ireland's policy to achieve the two-state solution and that Ireland totally condemns all breaches of international law and all denial of human rights, and that we are unequivocal about that. That is not in any sense to be interpreted, as is sometimes said, as some form of antisemitism. It is quite the contrary. It is a belief in the rule of law and order. Ireland is very conscious of the historic, appalling and tragic suffering of the Jewish people down the generations but that in no sense excuses or gives any form of legitimacy to the issues raised.

The Amnesty report is comprehensive. From my reading of its executive summary and having only glanced through the rest of the report, the detail of which I hope to read, it is extremely comprehensive and covers all classes.We are into semantics here and I am aware of the Taoiseach's position as outlined by the Minister of State. However, in essence it establishes that there is a totally discriminatory regime, with systematic discrimination against the Palestinian people and systematic wrongdoing. I speak personally here. While it depends on how one would define the word, I would see it as apartheid. We are into semantics here but personally I would see it as that. No matter how we define it, the consistent wrongdoing is undeniable.

During the protests in May 2021, it was shocking that the Israeli military fired grenades at worshippers and protesters gathered at the Al-Aqsa mosque. In October 2021 it shut down and outlawed six organisations, including three human rights organisations. The Amnesty International report is based on wide consultation with NGOs, UN agencies, stakeholders, scholars, academics etc. It establishes the concept of demographic hegemony. The issue is the illegal Jewish settlements throughout the occupied territories. What is very disturbing about what has been happening with these settlements in recent times is the degree to which they are making a two-state solution particularly difficult. The nature and spread of those settlements make such a solution very difficult to achieve. Of course, that is the intention, a two-state solution. While we cannot give up the fight on that, it is a major problem.

The laws give Jews a different status from their Palestinian neighbours, which is shocking. This report identifies 1,800 military orders. It states that since 1967, some 800,000 Palestinian men have been arrested and residency permits denied to persons of other nationalities who were married to Palestinians in the occupied territories. At the end of 2020, there were 272 settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem. Some 441,600 Israelis were settled in the occupied territories. As of July 2021, an additional 225,178 settlers were living in east Jerusalem, which was then home to 358,800 Palestinians, indicating an extraordinarily rapid increase in that time.

The discrimination extends to planning, national and financial resources, access to water, maritime access, livelihood opportunities, healthcare, education and sanitation. This is all well documented and established in the report. Obviously, as consequences of all that, there are higher levels of poverty and lower levels of participation in the labour force. The Amnesty International report is an extraordinary chronicle of discrimination and wrongdoing. In recent years there has been a great acceleration of the illegal settlements. That is contrary and damaging to the objective of Ireland's foreign policy, which is to establish the two-state solution.

I made this point at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and it is more appropriate to put on the record of this Assembly than that committee. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, are highly committed to dealing with this question. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has occupied himself with the Palestinian issue as a primary foreign affairs issue from when he first became Minister for Foreign Affairs. He has made it primus inter pares.

The situation is very grave. The Amnesty International report is damning and I believe its contents. Amnesty International is a reputable organisation. It has consulted widely and the report's contents are well tested and proved. It is not damaging its international reputation by producing false information. Tragically, the information it has produced is consistent with previous information and with our Government's material. It is just another document and a particularly stark documentation of the same issues.

We need a very strong approach here. We cannot be equivocal about it. It is a very damning report and a very damning situation. I congratulate Amnesty International on the report which I personally welcome. What is happening is wrong. No form of antisemitism is implicit in condemning that as wrong. On the contrary, the rule of law and human rights values enhance civilization, enhance people and are not contrary to the well-being of any particular demographic.

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. This is a damning report. The Government and this State need to be very strong in our response to the findings of this report. We cannot equivocate about it and tragically we cannot deny the accuracy of it.