Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will share time with my colleague Senator Higgins. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House today. I welcome the Cathaoirleach of the foreign affairs committee, Deputy John Lahart, here as well.

For over a year and a half, we have been confronted with scenes in Gaza that are so horrific that they haunt us long after our screens go dark. Only this week, we saw the devastating image of a child crawling through the flames of a makeshift hospital camp trying to get to safety. More than 55,000 people, Palestinians, are dead. Patients have been burnt to death as they lie in their hospital beds. Doctors, journalists and aid workers have all been murdered. Countless more are maimed and living with horrific injuries. There are children with no families and parents with no children.

On the inhumanity and brutality, these are not just isolated incidents. They are part of a relentless descent into darkness and yet, even as we witness these horrors, we feel absolutely powerless. Our hearts are absolutely broken, but let me be clear. I say to the wonderful activists and advocates who were marching weekly through horrific weather through the winter months that their actions, voices and relentless pressure can and are making a difference.

This week, I listened to a haunting interview with Dr. Victoria Rose, a front-line surgeon working in Gaza. She told us of 2,300 families completely wiped from the Palestinian civil registry - wiped out; they have been annihilated. Dr. Rose spoke of 42,000 children, innocent and vulnerable, who are sole survivors of their families. These children are known by a chilling initialism, WCNSF - wounded child, no surviving family. It is absolutely off-the-Richter-scale horrific.

When I think about all of this, I imagine the trauma, loss and despair of children who have known nothing but conflict and destruction. We have heard condemnation from many, but what are these words worth if they are not backed by concrete actions? Words without deeds are empty. Our outrage, if not translated into meaningful action, is meaningless. I acknowledge the Tánaiste and the decision by the Government to take action with the occupied territories Bill. This will be a first small step towards real action but it is only the beginning. I first tabled the occupied territories Bill in 2018. It has taken seven long years of delay, suffering and persistence to reach this point. I welcome the progress but the urgency is now greater than ever. We cannot afford to waste another moment. We have a duty to ensure this legislation is absolutely solid. We must pursue a full ban on all trade with illegal Israeli settlements, not only tangible goods such as fruit and vegetables but also intangible services such as technology and IT. This aligns with demands of the International Court of Justice, ICJ. I believe that if the political will is there, we can do this right and can get it right.

Beyond our own Government, we must look to Europe. Despite declaring these settlements illegal and despite the obligations set out by the ICJ, no European country has yet taken tangible steps to prohibit trade with these settlements. My colleague, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, and I visited Brussels recently and some of the countries are open to this conversation. They want to see Ireland lead on this. There has never been a targeted trade measure of this nature before at the EU level, and if we are serious about upholding international law, we have to break that status quo. I repeat: the years of condemnation must finally be matched with real material action. Trade has to be on the table. It is just unacceptable. We are at a crossroads. If we are serious about upholding international law, we must break that status quo. Trade measures are not only symbolic; they are a moral necessity.

How to we make Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinians? We have to do more. Empty rhetoric will not stop the slaughter but concrete economic and diplomatic pressure can, and that means enacting the occupied territories Bill as soon as is possible and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 to undermine the economic and political viability of Israel's settlements in the West Bank. It also means pushing for an arms embargo, the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement and recognising that, from the river to the sea, Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.

We have to do the right thing here. There must be no more excuses and no more delays. The suffering in Gaza, in the West Bank and across Palestine demands nothing less. Let us remember the true measure of our humanity is how we respond to the suffering of others and let history judge us by whether we had the courage to stand up, to speak out and to act. Let us be on the right side of history.