Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

What has happened in Rafah over recent days, what is happening in Gaza and the reality of the situation is beyond belief. I never thought I would come to the day where I would see this horrific genocide. I go to bed at night and think of the people who are alive still and the terror they must be feeling. They have nowhere to go. They have been asked to move but they have nowhere to go. They are walking but they are going nowhere. I think of how they must feel about how the international community has abandoned them. The whole world has abandoned them. It is honestly horrific.

The question I have is, are we complicit in this? The Irish people do not want to be complicit in this. They are out marching all over this country and saying, “Please take action”. Do not get me wrong, and credit where credit is due. I know the Irish Government has done more than most western countries to highlight the unbearable conditions being endured by the Palestinian civilians in Gaza. I want to give credit. Our Government has been outspoken about the need for a ceasefire and the unfettered delivery of aid, but we cannot be complacent. We need to listen to Palestinian civil society who are resisting occupation, displacement, apartheid and war. We need to listen to the people who are fighting for their lives while they struggle for peace, justice and freedom.

I do not understand why we have to wait six months. This should be urgent legislation. It is a modest demand. We are not asking for much. Thankfully, Ireland is not in the business of selling weapons of war, but we cannot allow weapons to pass through our territory en route to Israel, where they will be used to kill and maim Palestinian civilians – innocent people. It should not be a matter of ministerial discretion. It is a clear case of life or death and right or wrong. As a signatory to the Genocide Convention, Ireland has an obligation to take all necessary steps to prevent genocide from occurring, no matter where in the world it is happening. An arms embargo on Israel is clearly necessary for our compliance with our obligations under that convention.

The Bill should not be controversial, not least because this House unanimously passed a motion in February calling for an arms embargo on Israel. The failure of successive Irish governments to ensure meaningful compliance with prohibition on the transfer of weapons, munitions and dangerous goods contained in the Air Navigation and Transport Act is an absolute disgrace. How can we justify failing to order any inspections? How can we justify granting exemptions to aircraft from countries like Germany and the United States that are giving Israel the weapons and bombs it is using to murder Palestinians. I am asking and pleading with the Minister. Please, he has to stop it now - not in six months or a year, but now.

What happens in Palestine now will be critical for the future of international law. The world is watching. The US and many European countries continue to provide Israel with aid, weapons, preferential trading status and diplomatic cover despite its illegal occupation of Palestine, its cruel system of apartheid and the genocidal violence being unleashed on the people of Gaza. It is undermining the European Union’s claim to be a peacemaking body that stands for the universal applicability of human rights and international law and it is reducing its standing in the eyes of the world.

It is significant we are talking about this Bill on the day after Ireland formally recognised Palestinian statehood. Ireland has affirmed the principle that it has advocated for many years, including at the UN General Assembly and recently in front of the International Court of Justice, that the Palestinian people are sovereign within the 1967 borders of Palestine and that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is illegal and unjust. Recognition needs to be a stepping stone towards further, more tangible action as the brutal bombing of the displaced people’s tents in Rafah shows Israel is convinced it can break international law with impunity, and it is in direct violation of the updated provisional measures of the International Court of Justice issued just days ago.

I again ask the Minister. Please, we cannot be complicit in Israel’s attempt to drive Palestinians off their land and its overwhelming murderous violence. It wants to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people. I note the Government is trying to revive the viability of the two-state solution as a pathway to a just and lasting peace in the region. This is an admirable goal, but we have to act to ensure Israel cannot use its bombs, soldiers or the paramilitary violence of illegal Israeli settlers to undermine the geographic and demographic basis of the Palestinian state.

I ask the Minister to please change that amendment. I ask him to please not press the amendment and to pass this legislation today. It is urgent. We cannot be complicit in the killing of Palestinian people.