Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is fáilte an Aire. I echo the commendations for the Civic Engagement Group on bringing this motion to the Seanad. They speak day in and day out about the horror that is unfolding in Gaza. The one thing we see Palestinians say is, "Don't stop talking about it. You are our voices. Our lives depend on this." I am not the only one in saying that the feeling of powerlessness, frustration and hopelessness at the failure of the international community to act is soul destroying. That is why we have to keep talking and having these motions. It is important we follow up these words with those who have the ability to do so, with actions. It is right Ireland has been strong in its language but we need to follow through with actions.Earlier today, there were reports from Damascus, the Syrian capital, that the Israeli army had conducted a precision strike on an apartment building and assassinated two people on the fifth floor. That makes two things clear. The first is how brazen the Israeli Government is about expanding this war into other territories and the second is that it highlights the incredibly surgical nature of the strike, which puts into sharp relief just how barbaric the wanton destruction of Gaza really is. There were no precision strikes in the attack on the Jabalia refugee camp, a supposed safe zone. They were treated to indiscriminate bombardment with 2,000 lb bombs.

We can be under no illusion at this stage. This is not a war of defence against Hamas; it is an effort to collectively punish the people of Gaza. It is the ethnic cleansing of the people of Gaza. It is a genocide. It is another Nakba. Some of these words lose the potency of their original meaning through misuse, but in this case they are not being misused in any shape or form. The motion lays out plainly and powerfully the statistics of what we are all witnessing in real time: 28,000 Palestinians have been killed; children are being slaughtered; 17,000 have been left without any surviving family; 1,000 children have had one or both legs amputated, many of them without anaesthetic; 122 journalists have been murdered; 152 UN officials have been killed, and 2.3 million people have been displaced. We have witnessed with our own eyes the aerial bombardment of the routes used by displaced people who were told they would be safe if they moved. We have seen the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals. On the way home, I heard on "Drivetime" that no food has been delivered into northern Gaza in three weeks. There is no baby formula. Parents are resorting to feeding their children cat food, for as long as that will last. This is the reality that is happening - the deaths and injuries and systematic destruction of Gaza's society. It is not collateral damage. It is a genocidal rage that is being meted out on an innocent population.

While all this slaughter is happening, the EU is dithering and playing political games with the lives of the people of Palestine. Instead of spending serious time and effort calling for a ceasefire, we have seen the President of the European Commission give unconditional and unqualified support to Netanyahu's genocidal onslaught. She claimed she speaks for Europe, but she undermined efforts for a ceasefire. She could have saved countless lives in Gaza. Competency for foreign policy at European level lies with the European Council, at which each member state has a veto. Von Der Leyen has completely overstepped the mark and the power of her office. She has caused more division than Brexit to the so-called European project and she should not be given a second term in office. I urge my colleagues in the Green Party and Fianna Fáil to ensure that Ursula Von Der Leyen does not serve a second term at the European Commission.