Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I listened carefully to his statement and I do not disagree, as such, with anything he said. However, the key message I would like to get across to him today is that, right now and for some time since, words are not and have not been enough, not when we see the horrors being inflicted on the Palestinian people. Patricia McKeown of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, made a powerful speech at the union's conference last week. Speaking about what happened in Jenin, she said: "This was not an operation, it was not an incursion, it was not a raid; it was an invasion." That is exactly what it was.

I cannot help but contrast the Government's stance on different invasions happening in the world at the moment. It has taken a strong stance against Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine and is strongly supportive of sanctions on Russia. That is in contrast to its stance on the 75-year occupation of Palestine, with a constant refusal by the Government to endorse sanctions for actions, including some of those mentioned here today. There is Senator Black's excellent Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018. The Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 was put forward in the Dáil a couple of months ago by my colleague, Deputy Brady. If passed, it would compel the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, to divest shareholdings in companies listed on a UN database of businesses operating within illegal Israeli settlements. That would be incredibly meaningful and would show leadership to the world.

We have an obligation to show leadership. Regretfully, I am not seeing that leadership to date. Words are simply not enough at this point. I do not have the fully up-to-date figures on how many Palestinians have died in the year to date. I understand the number was 160, including 26 children, as of mid-June. As the Minister of State knows, we have received postcards with pictures of those children, some of whom were riding their bicycles when they were gunned down by the occupying Israeli forces. The idea that just speaking strongly about the situation is somehow enough is entirely unacceptable at this point.

Language is important. The Minister of State's refusal to use the word "apartheid" is entirely unacceptable. He must be truthful about what the situation is in occupied Palestine. Amnesty International Ireland has stated:

Israeli authorities enact multiple measures to deliberately deny Palestinians their basis rights and freedoms, including draconian movement restrictions in the OPT [occupied Palestinian territories], chronic discriminatory underinvestment in Palestinian communities in Israel, and the denial of refugees' right to return.

It also documents forcible transfer, administrative detention, torture and unlawful killings in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. This situation is not just being highlighted by Amnesty International. It has also been detailed by Human Rights Watch and the UN special rapporteur. A total of 450 civil society groups across the world, including heroic Jewish civil society groups like B'Tselem, have called out that Israel is an apartheid state. When I hear the Tánaiste say that word is not helpful, I must ask to whom it is not helpful. Surely our first obligation is to tell the truth. The truth is that Israel is an apartheid state. Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember when Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to implement sanctions against apartheid South Africa in the late 1980s. Eventually, the European Union made them do it. Are we back in that situation again?

We need leadership. We have been hearing a lot about Ireland's positive neutrality and how we are not neutral when it comes to invasions. Will the Minister of State show the leadership we need? Will the Government recognise the state of Palestine? That would send a signal to the Palestinian people and the world. We cannot keep waiting for somebody else to do it. We must show leadership. Right now, we are on the wrong side of history. While we have correctly taken action against Russia, we have not taken meaningful action against Israel. That is entirely unacceptable. The Government can and must do better. The Palestinian people deserve that at the very least.

Words do not cut it any more. The Government has an opportunity to do better. Will the Minister of State specifically address the issue of the use of the word "apartheid", which the whole of the rest of the world recognises is the case? As I said, more than 450 civil society bodies, including all the ones we respect, recognise and have detailed why Israel is an apartheid state.The fact that the Government refuses to use that term is cowardice, frankly. We need to speak up. It is difficult when some of the allies of Israel are friends of ours. However, I believe you have to be more honest to your friends about issues such as this. The Minister of State should call it out. He should call out Israel for the apartheid state that it is and finally take meaningful action in terms of boycott, divestment and sanctions against the apartheid Israel regime.