Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Amidst what we have been watching over the last period, namely, the brutal bombardment, the unconscionable blockade including that of lifesaving medical and humanitarian supplies and water, we are also seeing the systemic attempt to dismantle a society, a culture and a people. We have seen the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the targeting of hospitals, and as my colleague said, the direct demolition of universities including the museums within them. This is not anything like a war or a defensive action. It is a systemic destruction of a people, their land, their community and their culture. We see such systemic policies - and they are policies and that is why individual sanctions against individual settlers are so meaningless - being pursued by the Israeli Government in respect of its actions in Gaza and we are also seeing almost a culture of cruelty that seems to be occurring within that. I refer to the individual cruelty it takes for somebody to authorise a sniper to shoot medics who come to rescue a six-year-old girl. Those kind of individual cruelties happen and a culture of cruelty is built when you have a state which is acting with complete impunity and where, sadly, the political leaders in Israel are sending a signal that is very dehumanising about the Palestinian people.

Amidst all of these horrors we are seeing each day, we are also seeing acts of love about which I have spoken before, and acts of bravery. Bravery is not about the person who goes out in the flak jacket or the soldier on the move. Bravery is the act of a doctor who is operating under fire through smoke in their hospital; it is a child who goes out knowing that their friends have been killed and queues for water for his or her family. Bravery is a mother who takes her child from city to town to city, out on the road again, from a shelter to a possible bunker, and sees each place of safety destroyed but keeps striving. Bravery is shown by those who talk about still believing in a two-state solution, in meaningful international law, and in the principles of justice. It is those who come and speak to us and appeal to us in the world and say they still believe, dream of, and demand a better future. Given the bravery that has been shown and that we are seeing from people on drops of water a day and scraps of meals, surrounded by the grief of others and carrying grief themselves in the dust and water and danger of overcrowded refugee camps, given their bravery to keep going each day and to support each other, it is fair that Ireland would be a little braver too.

I want to acknowledge that the Government has been clear on ceasefire. Let us be clear on this because they do not seem to be very clear in the European Parliament. This is a call for an immediate ceasefire; not a ceasefire when everything is done and dusted or humanitarian aid when everybody is already dead. It is about a ceasefire now and the Government has been clear on that. The Government has also given leadership in respect of UNRWA and its funding and that is really important. The reason we see people all around the world standing up and taking action is they know that what is at stake. What is crammed right now into a tiny area in Rafah - the 1.5 million people - is not just the hearts and souls of the Palestinians, precious hearts we do not want to see stopped, it is also the heart and soul of our international legal system and of the whole structure we put in place collectively as humanity after the horrors of the Second World War. At that time, we said we would have a politics of principle, that we believed all humans should be treated equally, and that it was not about big powers of might that were right or client states any more. Those principles are also under attack because we need to be clear that some of the actions taken have been attacks on the UN itself, including, of course, the direct killing of a number of UN staff within Gaza.

In my last two minutes, I want to speak about how Ireland can be braver. One way it can be braver is by following through on the Control of Economic Activities (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 within the manifestos of both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party coming into this last election. This Bill has international legal advice from the highest level that makes it very clear it is entirely compatible with European law. In fact, not having it is illegal effectively in that we should not be trading with illegally occupied land and crucially there cannot be a trade agreement that allows for trading with illegally occupied land. There is a direct legal action that would send a signal. Failing to do it contributed to the culture of impunity that has clearly built up in Israel over the past decade.

On the EU-Israel association agreement, yesterday the Minister said he was looking forward to the Commission's response. The Commission has responded. It has said that this is political because Article 82 of the agreement directly allows one party - and that is of the 27 member states - to suspend. If you think of the huge volume of trade between the EU and Israel, what would that do? That might send a signal that might save lives in Rafah if that was on the cards and was spoken about. That is meaningful action and it can be taken immediately. It does not need the Commission to do a review first. It is an early action that can be taken. Then on weapons, I want to signal that we will be bringing forward legislation on this too. We need to make sure there is no exemption given to any flight that passes through Ireland that may be carrying weapons designed to take lives in Gaza. Right now, there are exemptions to flights. We need to make sure no exemptions are given on flights which may be breaching international law and indeed the International Court of Justice in the clear signal it sent to the world on our collective responsibilities in protecting against genocide. I look forward to the Minister of State's response. There are other actions that can be taken. We have a list of them and will keep thinking of new actions. For everyone who can think of any action on any side of this House, the responsibility on all of us is to do all we can as soon as we can do it. South Africa has given a lead, we can join it in the ICJ case but also in a wider set of actions.Ireland can lead, it should lead and it must lead on this.