Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to talk about, and put on the record of the House, the situation that confronts the people of Gaza this morning. The Israel Defense Forces, IDF, has assembled a force of 300,000 troops on the border with Gaza and Gaza is 360 sq. km. To put that in context, the United States invaded Iraq, a country the size of France, with just over 120,000 troops. Israel is proposing to saturate the Gaza Strip with 300,000 troops. That is 1,000 troops per sq. km. The consequences of this are clear to everybody. We have seen the consequences of their air strikes, which are not consistent with the laws of armed conflict and are contrary to the Geneva Conventions in that the Israeli military and air force have targeted civilian objects and civilian areas. They have not allowed for a safe evacuation corridor towards Rafah and Khan Younis. They have not provided the necessary reliefs as set out under the Geneva Conventions for pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled. We are also aware that since the bombardment of the Gaza Strip began, more than 100 children have been killed every day, including today.

Last night, the Israelis began their ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. It was an exercise in what is called reconnaissance by fire. If they persist with this they will bring Merkava tanks that have a main armament 120 mm, 155 mm artillery, and infantry carrying weapons that are designed for the conventional battlefield, with targets out to 800 m. They are going to use those weapons systems in and among a densely populated civilian environment of 2.2 million people. The consequences are predictable. They will result in mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe that is beyond comprehension at this stage.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a warning today that all Irish citizens should leave Lebanon immediately. I assume that is because the Department anticipates Hezbollah's involvement in this war and that if and when Israel goes in on the ground Hezbollah will join this war. I have seen some analysis of Hezbollah in the Irish media which is completely incorrect. Hezbollah is more than able to take on the Israeli military in northern Israel. Hezbollah has had ten or 15 years since the collapse of Iraq and the rise of Tehran's influence through Baghdad, Damascus and right over to Sheik Nasrallah in Beirut. They have armed and equipped Hezbollah with tens of thousands of very sophisticated missiles and endless amounts of equipment. There is now a land corridor from Iran to Lebanon and they can support, resupply and reinforce Hezbollah without any interruption. That is why the Americans have placed aircraft carrier battle groups in the eastern Mediterranean to send a warning to Iran. We are on the precipice of a regional escalation and the potential for a global conflict.

Hamas is a salafist, fundamentalist, radicalist Sunni organisation. They are Islamist extremists. What they had designed in their genocidal attack on Israel is now taking place. They provoked this reaction from Israel which plays into their playbook. What Israel is about to do is a human catastrophe for Palestinians that is beyond comprehension but will also sow the seeds for the destruction of Israel itself. I ask the Government to please use our neutral, independent voice to try to bring about a ceasefire as soon as we can to pre-empt this catastrophe.

Finally, what is the plan for the hundreds of Irish troops who are serving in Lebanon, Syria and in Israel, with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization and the United Nationals Disengagement Observer Force in Syria? If this conflict escalates, as the Department of Foreign Affairs anticipates, the mandates for those missions will become completely and utterly meaningless and we must have a discussion here in this House. I ask that we invite the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to talk to us about the plans for the hundreds of Irish troops who will find themselves in the eye of this storm and above all make a plea to stop the killing in Gaza. Stop the killing of innocent men, women and children.