Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. It is great to see him. I want in particular to thank all of the my Civil Engagement Group colleagues for their support with this motion. I highlight the work of Senator Lynn Ruane in particular. She is not here this evening. She is at the OSCE in Vienna trying to get politicians from across Europe to support an immediate ceasefire. She is doing phenomenal work on that.

Everybody knows that Gaza is a graveyard for children. That is the description given by UN Secretary General António Guterres. Four and a half months into the latest assault on the citizens of Gaza I keep asking myself how this has been allowed to happen. I cannot get my head around it, and I cannot comprehend the scale of this horror. We can compile the facts and figures as we have done for this motion, but it is impossible to reckon with the misery, fear, grief, hunger, agony and humiliation that lie behind those figures. It is suffering on an unimaginable scale. I cannot stop thinking about the thousands of children left without any surviving relatives. I cannot stop thinking about the parents digging the bodies of their dead children out of the ruins of their family homes. Entire families are being wiped out and multiple generations murdered in an instant by 2,000-pound bombs. It is beyond belief.

Israeli bombing has levelled entire Gazan neighbourhoods. Most of Gaza's buildings have been damaged. Mosques, ambulances and bakeries have been targeted. Hospitals are ceasing to function due to bombardment, invasion by Israeli soldiers and a lack of fuel. Bodies are piling up that cannot be buried. People are having to endure surgical procedures without anaesthetic. Israel has destroyed every university in Gaza. It is important to highlight all of these horrific issues. Leading academics, artists and journalists are being murdered at an even higher rate than other Gazans. Israel is conducting an assassination campaign designed to unravel the fabric of Palestinian civil society in Gaza. They want to destroy the history and the culture of a refugee population, which has resisted its displacement, occupation, besiegement and bombardment for decades. I believe the ultimate goal of this assault is the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. Israel has always sought to claim the maximum amount of Palestinian land, with the fewest number of Palestinians living in it. It has achieved this historically through massive and indiscriminate violence.

All of this horror is being broadcast on our television screens and social media feeds. It is the first genocide of the digital age. People can see what is being inflicted on the Palestinians and they are horrified. All over the world millions of people are taking part in a global movement demanding a ceasefire but, as demonstrated by the US vetoing a ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council once again, their pleas are unfortunately falling on deaf ears. That is what is really devastating. Yesterday in this House there were statements on the situation in the middle east. I was happy and glad to hear powerful condemnation of Israeli war crimes from all speakers. It made me proud to be a Member of this House and it made me proud to be Irish. In Ireland we treat Palestinians as human beings. We value their lives and we mourn their deaths. That is just basic humanity, which is unfortunately in short supply among the political leadership of many western countries. Whenever I am in this Chamber I think about the British, American, Canadian and German politicians who are being defamed and vilified for standing up for the humanity of Palestinians. I think about the activists in these countries who are subject to arrest, censorship, harassment and violence. In this country we have freedom to speak out, which means it is our duty to speak out. However, even the finest speech rings hollow if there is no action to back it up.

We cannot allow ourselves to feel complacent or smug, and it is not good enough to be more tolerant and civilised than the UK or the US. These countries are actively complicit in the unfolding genocide in Gaza. They provide weapons, aid and diplomatic cover to a rogue, apartheid state. As a former colony, which fought for its freedom and, as a country dedicated to upholding the principles of human rights and international law, we must have higher standards for ourselves. We must be consistent and courageous. We need to take real, tangible action to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters during their time of need. The people of Ireland have met this challenge. People are protesting in huge numbers all over the country. They are raising awareness and funds. They are contacting their public representatives demanding action. They are making art and flying the Palestinian flag. Irish people know what solidarity looks like and their demonstration of love and support for the people of Palestine is, I have to say, truly beautiful and inspiring. Local authorities all over this country are passing solidarity motions with Palestine. Many of these motions include support for the enactment of the occupied territories Bill and have received support from councillors from all parties and none. Our local democracy has been reflecting the will of the people, and it is now time for us to do the same.

The international community is united behind a two-state solution. However, Israel has done everything in its power to make that outcome impossible. It refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the ICJ, which is currently ruling on the legality of its 56-year-long occupation. Israel has expanded illegal settlement construction since the Oslo Accords, making daily life in the West Bank impossible for indigenous Palestinians. There are now four times more settlers in the West Bank than there were before Oslo. The prospect of a Palestinian state - the only hope for lasting peace - is being eroded before our eyes and unfortunately nothing is being done about it. I do not believe the US and EU plans to sanction individual violent settlers will make a meaningful impact.I am concerned about that. Violent, illegal settlement is a state-backed enterprise; one which it fully intends to impose on an ethnically cleansed Gaza if Israel has its way. Only a full ban on settlement trade will have an impact. We need to pass the occupied territories Bill and the illegal Israeli settlements divestment Bill. If we fail to take concrete political action, all of our diplomatic and humanitarian work will amount to nothing. Ireland has played a hugely important and positive role in countering the anti-Palestinian racism that has marred European politics in recent months. We have defended humanitarian aid and I congratulate both the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach in this area. We have called for an immediate ceasefire early and often, and the joint Spanish-Irish letter calling for a review of the EU-Israel agreement is a very positive step. We must go further and call for the immediate Article 82 suspension of the agreement. The human rights conditions of the agreement are non-negotiable and they have been totally disregarded by Israel. It must be made to experience consequences or the EU’s democratic and liberal principles will be irreparably damaged.

What we do now in response to Israel’s genocide will be recorded in history. The generations who come after us will ask us if we rose to the occasion. We need to be brave and we need to be principled. If we act, others will follow. I firmly believe that. The Palestinians struggling for freedom and for survival have asked us to impose diplomatic and economic sanctions on Israel. We did it with Russia and with apartheid South Africa before that. It is now time to take tangible action for Palestine. Let us stand on the right side of history.