Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their statements, which have addressed many of the pressing concerns of the Irish people on the horrific situation in the Middle East. We know the devastating human loss that the war in the Gaza Strip has caused. Since October, 100,000 people have been killed or injured, or are missing. The vast proportion of the population of Gaza is displaced and international organisations are speaking of the potential for famine conditions.

I have heard Senators' comments about the way that the unfolding tragedies of the conflict have had an impact on them, on the people we have all met in recent months and on the whole country here in Ireland. Families are suffering the most horrific pain any of us can imagine. We have all seen the images and read the stories of children orphaned, people horrifically wounded and people dying from injuries that should be treatable. Supplies of food and medicine are nowhere near adequate.

This has also had an impact here in Ireland and indeed in this House. People whose families have been killed, injured or displaced are among us, living with the extraordinary trauma these events bring. I take this opportunity to extend my condolences and those of the Irish people to them.

Earlier, the Tánaiste made clear that the Government’s position remains focused on urging an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid at scale for people so desperately in need.The Government has been firm in its commitment to a ceasefire. The Tánaiste made this point strongly to the European Union Foreign Affairs Council this week. He and the Taoiseach also spoke of the importance of stopping the violence in their interactions with leaders from around the world at the Munich Security Conference.

We also made it clear that the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip in response to the horrific attacks by Hamas has been disproportionate. I think everybody accepts this point. Ireland has repeatedly called on Israel to conduct itself in line with international law, including international humanitarian law. Israel must comply with the provisional measures delivered by the International Court of Justice in the case taken by South Africa under the genocide convention. The measures are clear and the authority of the court must be respected. In a separate case regarding the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Attorney General will travel to The Hague this week to deliver Ireland’s analysis in the advisory opinion case at the court, which resulted in the vote Ireland supported in the United Nations General Assembly in 2022.

At the meeting of European Union development ministers last week, I discussed the humanitarian situation with the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Philippe Lazzarini. I commended the actions of UNRWA, which helps almost 6 million Palestine refugees across the region and the support of which is absolutely vital in the Gaza Strip now more than ever. Since 7 October, 158 UNRWA staff have now been killed in Gaza, an appalling loss of life of people trying to help those in need.

There remains a huge problem with humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. Plainly, not enough of the basic necessities of life are getting through to where they are needed most. Water, food, medicine and fuel are all needed in vastly greater quantities than are currently getting into Gaza. Over 2 million people are now at imminent risk of famine, with reports of almost 400,000 people now extremely lacking in food. Only one of the three water pipelines from Israel into the Gaza Strip is currently functioning and there is no access to clean water at all in northern Gaza.

We raise humanitarian access at every opportunity and this remains a focus for the Government in all our interactions. No hospital in Gaza is fully operational; maternity services are overcrowded, resulting in a reported massive increase in miscarriages; people are undergoing procedures without anaesthetic; and there is also a huge risk from the spread of disease. The impacts of this terrible crisis will go on and on for decades or even generations. Children have been left behind, physically and mentally scarred by the conflict. The cost, economic and human, is huge and the ripples will be felt for many years to come.

When Commissioner-General Lazzarini visited Dublin last week, he laid out starkly the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, the necessity of ensuring that UNRWA is properly provisioned and that aid can reach those who need it most. I welcome that the Commissioner-General took the immediate and necessary step to terminate the contracts of 12 UNRWA staff accused of involvement with the attacks on 7 October. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has also appointed a review group, led by the former foreign minister of France, Catherine Colonna. This is a welcome step that will assess UNRWA’s ability to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations. The Commissioner-General did say at the meeting I attended that he hopes he will have this work finalised by 20 April, which is not too far away, all things considered and given the difficult nature of carrying out this work.

UNRWA is absolutely essential in ensuring Palestinian refugees are able to have the services they need. In the Gaza Strip, no other organisation, including any other international body, would be able to fill the role currently played by UNRWA. It is vital, not only in the context of the immediate humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but also for Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as in the occupied West Bank, all of whom rely on UNRWA for basic services every day. In total, UNRWA provides services for around 5.9 million people in need of international support and enjoys widespread support internationally, as evidenced in the vote on its mandate, with 157 states in favour and only one against, at the UN General Assembly at the end of 2022. I also made the point at a meeting I attended last week, representing every one of the EU countries, with Commissioner-General Lazzarini, that there was general acceptance that no NGO or other organisation could fill the shoes of UNRWA, even if there was a desire to do so. All those other organisations, even in the work they currently do, undertake it with the assistance of UNRWA's facilities and the infrastructure it has in place. For those people who suggest this approach might be an alternative, it is not at all practical. This has generally been accepted by so many people.

As Minister of State with responsibility for international development, I was pleased that last week we announced a further €20 million in funding for UNRWA. The decisions taken by other states, including some of our European partners, as well as the United States, to suspend funding, is deeply unfortunate. It is imperative that UNRWA has the resources necessary to be able to do its vital work and I urge the countries that have suspended funding to reverse their decisions now. Again, Commissioner-General Lazzarini, when asked about this point, said that UNRWA has funds to carry out its work right up into March but that the organisation will have a severe cash flow problem for its work come 1 April unless some of this funding is reinstated. I wish to make it clear as well, and this point may have been lost on some people, that some of those who have announced the suspension of funding meant they were suspending new funding proposals. They were continuing their previous commitments, while making their position clear regarding new funding proposals.

We appeal to those countries to keep the existing committed funding flowing until they are, hopefully, satisfied with the report forthcoming on 20 April. They can then reassess their position regarding future commitments. I ask them, though, to please not suspend funding they have previously committed to providing. Who are the victims here? They are the families and the children in the Gaza Strip. Nobody wins in this situation; everybody will be a loser, especially the people who depend on that aid for their daily lives. A large portion of people's incomes in the Gaza Strip, even before this conflict, has been supported by UNRWA and other relief agencies. Without that support, there will be a catastrophe. I ask those nations that have suspended funding to immediately reconsider. The people in the Gaza Strip cannot wait longer. The European Commission should also commit to releasing its planned funding for UNRWA on time. Ireland will continue to work with like-minded member states to insist that the Commission does so, and does not hold back funding it has already committed to providing in the near term.

The EU has a significant role to play in the region, both in terms of the provision of aid and in advancing practical measures. Ireland has been to the forefront of pressing for a common EU position that supports an immediate ceasefire. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have raised this matter with their EU counterparts and have explored ways to advance the position with our most like-minded partner nations. It is now past time that the EU speaks clearly, as so many member states have done individually, to urge a ceasefire. Only a ceasefire can begin to bring about an end to this horrific conflict. The letter by the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain to the President of the European Commission requests a review of Israel’s compliance with its human rights obligations as part of its association agreement with the EU and that the Commission should respond quickly. This agreement deals with trade issues, but it also deals with these issues under review now.

It is clear the EU should also follow the example set by the United States, the UK and France in sanctioning violent settlers in the West Bank. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports there have been 552 settler attacks against Palestinians or their property in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October. In total in the West Bank, almost 400 Palestinians have been killed in recent months, 100 of whom have been children. We are all aware of the ways in which this horrific conflict has spread, and has the potential to do so further. It is imperative that in the West Bank settler attacks and incursions by the Israeli military do not create conditions for additional violence.

On 7 October, the Government swiftly condemned the actions of Hamas. The mass killing of civilians, including Kim Damti, an Irish citizen, and the taking of hostages was appalling. I know Kim’s family personally as they are from my own constituency. Kim had visited her mother’s birthplace in County Laois for almost two weeks to celebrate her cousin’s wedding not too long ago. All hostages must now be released, immediately and unconditionally.It is worth recalling that adherence to international humanitarian law is the responsibility of all partners, including non-state actors.

We are raising the issue of the inadequate volume of aid reaching people in Gaza. They cannot wait any longer for the absolute essentials of life that need to be delivered to them. The violence must end now.