Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

It has been almost two years since the heinous terror attacks carried out by Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel and Israeli people on 7 October 2023. The horror of these attacks remains imprinted in our minds. Murder, rape and general savagery was video recorded. Ireland has consistently and unequivocally condemned these attacks. They were absolutely disgraceful. As we approach this tragic milestone of two years, we think especially of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, and their families who desperately want them home. Ireland calls for their immediate release. Hamas has brought nothing but death and destruction to the people of Israel and Palestine and has nothing to offer for the future of the people of Palestine.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023. Entire cities have been razed to the ground. There is massive displacement, hunger and destitution. We see the horror play out every day on our mobile phones and it is just the same on our television screens. This cycle of violence has shocked and outraged the Irish people. It has shocked both Houses of the Oireachtas and every single Member of Seanad Éireann. This outrage at the policies of the Israeli Government is shared across Europe and beyond, as ordinary people around the world ask how this suffering has continued for so long.

Without a political horizon, this cycle of violence will continue. At the United Nations high level meetings week this week, addressing the situation in Gaza has been a core objective of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and all other Government representatives. Ireland has been at the forefront of the European and international debate, pushing for urgent action in the face of this appalling conflict. Yesterday there were discussions at ambassador level and at the Council table at the European Union to progress what was proposed two weeks ago by the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. Ireland continues to be at the forefront of those conversations.

The situation in Gaza and the West Bank has been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of our foreign policy. For these reasons, the Government welcomes this debate and does not oppose the motion put forward by Fianna Fáil. Many of the proposed amendments are being worked on by the Government at European level at the moment. Many of them are being sought by the Government at European level.

Ireland’s position on this conflict has been steadfast. We have consistently called for a permanent and immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and an unimpeded surge of humanitarian aid into and throughout Gaza at scale. The determination that famine is occurring in Gaza is harrowing. This is the first famine experienced in the Middle East since monitoring began.This is a man-made famine. We must demand adherence to international humanitarian law and hold those responsible to account. There can be no more double standards. Against this dire background, Israeli military operations in Gaza have intensified, with massive destruction of buildings, relentless bombardment and hundreds of people killed while seeking aid. Earlier this month, the independent international commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory published a report concluding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

I share the concerns outlined by Senators for the flotilla consisting of people lawfully protesting the slaughter in Gaza, which was attacked by Israeli forces. I condemn the actions of the Israeli Government in unlawfully attacking a lawful flotilla that is seeking to engage in peaceful activities in international waters. This is a breach of international law. I have seen reports that Spain will join Italy in sending military warships to protect the international flotilla. I commend Spain and Italy on calling out the breaches of international law at play and then acting to protect those on board the flotilla. I am very conscious that Senator Andrews is on the flotilla. I fully acknowledge his sincerity and the danger he is in at the minute. We must be very conscious of that. It will not be possible, as was explained yesterday, for the Irish Government to send an observer boat to the flotilla because as the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, said yesterday, we are not a strong military power and, indeed, we would be prohibited legally under the triple lock legislation.

At least 20,000 children have now been killed in Gaza. Many more bodies lie beneath the rubble. We cannot stand idly by and must use all the levers at our disposal to respond to this crisis. That is exactly what Ireland is doing. We cannot lose sight of the situation in the West Bank. Since January, Israeli military operations have displaced at least 40,000 people, destroying homes, schools and civilian infrastructure. Almost 900 physical barriers and checkpoints permanently or intermittently restrict the movement of Palestinians every day. These barriers are the physical manifestation of the many ways in which Palestinians are being prevented from living ordinary lives: blocking people from getting to work, restricting children from getting to school, hampering access to hospitals and healthcare facilities, and making it difficult for families to visit each other. Since October 2023, the Israeli Government has approved 49 new settlements compared with an annual average of seven outposts in the nearly three decades before that. Each outpost further entrenches occupation, skews the demography and restricts the viability and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. The decision to approve plans for settlement construction in the so-called E1 area of the West Bank is particularly egregious and a violation of international law. It corrodes the very core of a potential Palestinian state. We cannot be blind to these realities; we must act.

Earlier this month, the European Commission presented proposals to suspend certain trade-related provisions of the EU-Israel association agreement. These are matters that Ireland has been pushing for quite some time. There are also proposals for sanctions on Hamas, extremist ministers and violent settlers. Again, some of these matters are before us in amendments and were before the Council of Ministers at ambassador level yesterday. The Commission is also putting on hold bilateral support to Israel, with the exception of support to civil society and the Israeli holocaust memorial institution. Ireland has welcomed, looked for and led the way in seeking these steps, which are long overdue.

In February 2024, together with Spain, Ireland wrote to High Representative Kallas requesting a review of Israel’s human rights obligations under the association agreement. The dial is shifting and the outrage of EU citizens across the bloc at the EU’s inaction is finally being heard. We must distinguish between the European Union and its institutions and the people there. The truth is a dynamic is at play, whether in the Parliament, Council or Commission. I strongly recommend to people, as I did over the summer with counterparts in countries who do not hold the same view, to talk to members of parliament - Senators' counterparts - in other parliaments in countries that are not as supportive as Ireland is of these measures to listen to why they are not supportive and maybe persuade them. This is something I have been doing when talking to counterparts in certain countries across the European Union: to listen to why, to understand why and for them to understand why we are making this particular case and have been making it strongly. The dial is certainly shifting. I am picking that up in my own engagements at ministerial level. I am sure Members would too, if they engage with members of other parliaments, as I am sure they do.

The European Union now has an opportunity to demonstrate to its international partners and, crucially, to our citizens that we are ready to stand up in the face of the catastrophic situation in Gaza and to stand up for core principles and respect for international law. Ireland is working to encourage fellow member states to support these proposals. The Tánaiste has called for the Council to be convened as a matter of urgency. We do not have time to wait. Ireland has been active in calling for the EU to undertake a detailed review of its compliance with the advisory opinion of the ICJ. We have been calling for this for some time and will continue to press for action. Ireland asks that the EU’s analysis in this regard be shared with member states at the earliest opportunity.

We are working at international level, and through the UN, in pursuit of a ceasefire and hostage release deal, and to address the critical situation in Gaza. Over the weekend, we welcomed the decision of the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal and Australia to recognise the State of Palestine. During the UN high level conference on the two-state solution on Monday, further announcements followed by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Andorra, Malta, Monaco and San Marino. This means over 150 countries now recognise the State of Palestine. Of course, Ireland, together with Spain, Norway and Slovenia, took this decision last year in recognition of the principle that Palestine should be able to vindicate the full rights of a state, including self-determination, self-governance, territorial integrity and security, as well as recognise its own obligations under international law.

These recent formal decisions to announce formal recognition of the State of Palestine come against the background of the intolerable humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, the shrinking space for Palestinian life in the West Bank, and the need to inject fresh impetus into bringing about a just, lasting peace, where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in two states, Israel and Palestine, in peace, security and dignity. We are using our voice at the UN, since 1980, as Senator O'Loughlin said, when Brian Lenihan Snr. was Minister. We were the first. We will continue to use that voice to pursue a sustainable, long-lasting peace for the two states of Israel and Palestine. The cycle of violence must be broken and a political horizon must be in clear sight.

A key issue is support for the Palestinian authority governing a Palestinian state. I have to say that when I was met by protestors last week, the Palestinian authority was among the people they were criticising, not just the Irish Government and everybody else. I was surprised to hear that. We need to support its reform agenda, even though it is not perfect. It needs sustainable financing, including the release of revenues by Israel.

The two-state solution is the most pragmatic, realistic and concrete path forward. It is the only way to build a future with two states living side by side in peace and security. It can be achieved. We believe it can and that is why we have acted. We were an active participant at the UN high level conference on the implementation of the two-state solution, which the Taoiseach attended on Monday. As co-chair of the working group of the conference, alongside Türkiye, Ireland was part of a core group of countries that negotiated the outcome document of the conference. That document was endorsed by 142 countries in a vote at the General Assembly on 12 September. There is strong international support to press ahead with securing and implementing the two-state solution.

We are also a member of the global alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution. This is the follow-up vehicle to the work of the UN conference. We have been an active participant in the work of the alliance over the past year. Meetings have taken place in Riyadh, Brussels, Oslo, Cairo and Rabat. The Tánaiste attended a meeting of the global alliance in New York yesterday and announced that Ireland will host a meeting of the global alliance in Dublin in the coming months. At that meeting, we will share some of our own experience of a successful peace process in Northern Ireland with relevance to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including creating the appropriate conditions for a ceasefire and underlining the importance of civil society. Such international engagement reiterates Ireland’s unwavering commitment to the vision of a two-state solution, where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognised borders consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions.

It is that commitment to the two-state solution and to the upholding of international law that sees the Government now advancing work on the commitment in the programme for Government in relation to the banning of goods from illegal Israeli settlements. This is yet another area that Ireland has been at the forefront of. I will take the opportunity to update the Seanad on the progress of that Bill. In June, the Government approved the general scheme of the Bill. The joint committee subsequently held a number of hearings and received submissions, as Members know, representing a range of views and perspectives. The committee has published its report. On behalf of the Tánaiste, we thank members of the committee, some of whom are here, for their diligence and dedication. The general scheme delivered on the commitment in the programme for Government to progress the legislation. The main purpose of the Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. A number of other EU member states have recently announced they are also taking similar steps. Many of them, including Spain, Slovenia, Belgium and the Netherlands, are in direct contact with me, the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach and our officials. This issue was raised by some of those ambassadors at the meeting I referred to that took place yesterday in Brussels. This is welcome.

Our preference, however, is for robust action at EU level.That is exactly what we have been asked to do. I have met my counterpart from the State of Palestine and she has asked me to continue applying pressure at international level. We will do that.

We recently welcomed a further 15 Palestinian people from Gaza. These individuals are part of a complex evacuation led by the Department of foreign affairs’ consular and regional embassy teams. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Department has supported the travel of more than 200 people from Gaza to Ireland. We welcome those people with open arms and hope Ireland can be a place of respite. I acknowledge the successful cross-departmental co-operation in evacuating paediatric patients to Ireland to undergo medical treatment and care. We approved the evacuation of up to 30 sick children from Gaza. Two successful medical evacuations have already been completed and planning is now under way for the third.

Ireland has also provided over €95 million in support of the people of Palestine since January 2023. This includes €58 million to UNRWA, of which €20 million was provided in February 2025. Over €83 million of Ireland’s support has been provided since October 2023. Over €29 million has been provided this year for the people of Palestine. Our support will not waver as we seek to establish a durable, sustainable peace for Israel and Palestine alike.

I was not going to raise the presidential election but it was raised by the Opposition. Although it is not relevant to this debate, Jim Gavin was criticised by the Opposition. In the context of our talking about citizens in danger abroad, he is certainly the only presidential candidate who has direct experience of having flown planes to negotiate the release of Irish citizens abroad on a number of occasions, as well as giving extraordinary service on peacekeeping missions in Central Africa by way of directly flying planes and trying to keep the peace. I say that in his defence because he was criticised, completely unnecessarily, from the Opposition benches, and I say it particularly when we have Irish citizens abroad in what I would say is some considerable danger on the flotilla that was mentioned.

The Government has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas and a massive increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza and will not rest until these objectives are achieved. As we approach the two-year anniversary of 7 October, we must do more than call for peace. We must seize this opportunity to end the destructive cycle of violence and deliver on our commitments for a lasting peace. We owe it to the many thousands of victims of this dreadful conflict to implement, once and for all, the two-state solution, which is in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians. Ireland will continue to work at EU and international levels to do what we have been asked to do, in accordance with what have been the basic principles of our foreign policy since 1980, to drive the two-state agenda forward. We will continue to take measures at domestic level as we wait for an adequate international response. We do not lose hope. We owe that to our friends in both Israel and Palestine, and we will strive for a political horizon to stem this vicious cycle of violence.