Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. As others have said, what is happening in Palestine and Israel right now is absolutely heartbreaking. I extend heartfelt condolences to all the Israeli and Palestinian people who have lost loved ones. Thousands are dead and many more will likely die in the coming days and weeks. If we want this cycle of violence and repression to end, we need to understand and act on the root causes of this tragedy: the occupation of Palestine, the siege of Gaza and the failure to enforce international law. I was in Gaza back in 2018. It is horrific. It has been an open-air camp since 2006. It is populated mostly with refugees from the surrounding towns and agricultural communities who have been displaced by Israeli ethnic cleansing in what is now southern Israel. Gaza is the youngest and most densely populated place on this earth. In an area half the size of County Louth, over 2.5 million people, half of them children, try to survive without access to food, water and medicine, and that is in a time of supposed peace.Now that war has been declared Israel is blocking access to electricity, food and fuel while it indiscriminately bombards Gaza. This is collective punishment and targeting civilian populations, both of which are war crimes. Most Gaza residents have never left the small areas they are confined to. They have never known life outside a cage. In 2018, thousands of Gazans, independent of the Palestinian political factions, organised the march for return where they marched peacefully towards the border fence day after day protesting their confinement. I was there just days before and spoke to those who marched peacefully, knowing what may come. Some 223 Palestinians were killed, including children and medical personnel. Thousands more were shot by Israeli snipers who aimed at marchers' knees and ankles in order to disable them. The horrible violence of these past days cannot be understood without acknowledging the senseless cruelty inflicted on those who have resisted occupation non-violently. The rhetoric from the Israeli Government in response to the latest attack is openly genocidal.

As always, Ireland should be a firm voice for de-escalation and the protection of civilians in the immediate term. We need to take decisive action to support political efforts to end the Israeli apartheid and occupation. Political inaction and international apathy make violence inevitable. Civilians are suffering. The status quois broken and I commend the Department of Foreign Affairs on its principled stance on continuing aid to Palestine - it was wonderful to see that there was some hope - and in calling for the de-escalation in line with our shared commitment to international law. We have to do something and we have to face reality for the Gazan people today. It is horrific and absolutely wrong. I call for an urgent debate on this issue.