Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Tánaiste as ucht teacht chuig an Teach inniu chun labhairt agus éisteacht linn mar gheall ar na heachtraí ar fad i nGaza agus conas is féidir linn, mar thír bheag i bhfad ón gcoimhlint, tionchar dearfach a bheith againn ar chúrsaí agus ár mballraíocht den Aontas Eorpach a úsáid chun dul i mbun oibre leis na ballstáit eile chun todhchaí níos fearr a chruthú do mhuintir an Mheánoirthir go léir.

To put my contribution in context, I will clarify that I and pretty much all of those with whom I have engaged on the subject over the past 18 months are neither antisemite nor pro-Hamas. I am opposed to the horrific attacks by Hamas on the State of Israel on 7 October 2023, but I also oppose the massively disproportionate genocidal response we have seen from the Israeli Government and defence forces, the latter of which seems to have become a misnomer for over 18 months.

I remember as a 14-year-old boy in September 1993 watching the historic handshake between Yasser Arafat, the then leader of the PLO and Fatah, and Yitzhak Rabin, the then Prime Minister of Israel. I remember the hope we all had that this would lead to a lasting peace. Over 30 years later, that has proven not to be the case, but we must look at the strong international leadership that was shown prior to that point in 1993 when we arrived at the historic handshake and try to provide that leadership at an international level, in particular among our EU counterparts. I am sure we all agree with the Tánaiste's remarks that not enough is being done at an international level.

Strong leadership is something that is needed on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Regular polling in Israel shows that over 70% of people oppose the course of action being led by the incumbent Prime Minister. That is a cause of concern. We must also recognise that there is a significant majority of people in Israel who are opposed to an awful lot of what is happening, and are instead in favour of the return of hostages and bringing the war to an end.

I have spoken in this Chamber on two occasions recently about the importance of the EU in the area of conflict resolution. The EU must step forward and play a central role in helping to bring the war to an end and working with other international partners to create the conditions necessary for Israel and Palestine to emerge from their decades-long conflict and exist side-by-side as two separate states. Many news outlets regularly report on this as the Israel-Hamas war. It is not Hamas that is being obliterated; it is Palestine.

I welcome the review of the EU-Israel association agreement, as referenced by the Tánaiste. I also welcome the indication from the Tánaiste that he and the Taoiseach favour suspending the agreement pending the review. I also welcome the stronger stance being taken in recent days by the new Bundeskanzler, Friedrich Merz, and the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, on sanctions against Israel. They have said Berlin would not export weapons used to break humanitarian law.

I have strong concerns, which I have articulated to the Tánaiste on a previous occasion, about the widespread adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, IHRA, definition of antisemitism because I feel the definition and the reasons articulated in it are being misconstrued and abused in order to stamp out any legitimate criticism of the actions of Israel. At EU level, this is something we need to address because it is a definition that is commonly adopted and accepted in a lot of our EU institutions.

The atrocities we have seen, and which have been referenced by the Tánaiste and Senator Ahearn, the blockade of aid and food into Gaza, the starvation of people in Palestine, the recent deliberate shooting in the direction of diplomats and horrific events such as those on the news the other evening of the murder of nine of ten children in one family, the mother of whom is working in a hospital as a paediatrician, is not strong leadership. It effectively ensures that the next generation of Palestinians will be prepared to take up arms against Israel. This is something that we need to take a strong stance against.

As well as the importance of international-----