Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Craughwell's amendment to the Order of Business.

I raise the issue of the advance of the Israel Defense Forces into the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in Rafah. We in this House have warned about the apocalyptic implications for civilians of Israeli troops operating in tented areas of humanitarian zones in Rafah. Some 14,500 children have now been killed by the Israel Defense Forces. I am glad the children who were in the Gallery have left. It is important to note that the manner in which these children are being killed is horrific. They are being killed by high explosive weapons that are fired at them indiscriminately. I have said in this House previously that if a piece of plastic explosive the size of a cigarette packet is placed under a car, as happened so often during the Troubles, the car will be unrecognisable after the explosion. The Israel Defense Forces is dropping 500 kg or 1,000 kg of high explosives on tented areas. Children are being slaughtered. The shockwaves pulp internal organisations, shatter bones and cause limb separation, decapitation and burns. Thousands of children are dying in Rafah for want of analgesia and painkillers. They are dying in agony as the Israelis move forward.

When I was the security analyst with The Irish Times, I had a conversation with the Israeli ambassador. She told me how the Israelis were able to distinguish between the Nazis and Germans. Israel traditionally had a good relationship with the German Government and people because it distinguished between Germans and the Nazis. It does not, however, distinguish between ordinary innocent Palestinians and Hamas. It pillories us and says that by recognising the State of Palestine, we somehow endorse Hamas. We do not. Israel's failure to distinguish between innocent Palestinian children and Hamas is a matter of race hatred and these actions are genocidal. I commend the Taoiseach and Tánaiste for recognising the State of Palestine and for their record on these issues but I ask that we put pressure on our partners, including our American and British friends, to stop supplying weapons to the Israelis while they are attacking innocent civilians. Israel can defend its borders by all means, but when it is slaughtering innocent children, we must stop supplying it with weapons.