Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)

I thank the Fianna Fáil Senators for tabling this motion. We all know the extermination of Palestinian people has been relentless for almost two years and we must do everything we can and do so now. I was gladdened to hear the Minister of State mention the occupied territories Bill; however, he did not actually mention the committee report recommendations, which include services. He mentioned only goods. I hope that is not a sign of things to come when the legislation is introduced in the Houses.

My amendments seek only to strengthen the motion and ensure that it reflects the full reality of what is happening in Palestine today. I travelled to the West Bank earlier this month and saw at first hand the impact of the illegal settlement expansion, the daily intimidation, the daily violence faced by Palestinian communities and the systematic denial of their basic human rights. These are not isolated incidents. They are very much part of an entrenched system, a system that has been in place for decades and a system of apartheid. These practices have very much escalated exponentially since October 2023. We actually heard from the Minister of State himself on this and he gave some statistics on it. What we are seeing is Israel using the cloak of Gaza – the horrendous, horrific genocide in Gaza – to further its extreme expansionist ideology in the West Bank. This is done with settler violence. It is increasing with impunity and communities are being displaced in clear violation of international law. This is inextricably linked to what is happening in Gaza, which is why I introduced my amendments.

My amendments are designed to reflect these realities. They call for sanctions on those responsible for the genocide in Gaza but also the violent occupation and apartheid in the West Bank – both Israeli Government Ministers and the violent settlers. The amendments call for an end to the transport through Ireland of weapons used in these atrocities, and they also ground our support specifically for the settlement trade ban in the July 2024 ICJ ruling reinforcing the point that this is not just about political choice but a legal obligation. I have said many times in this Chamber that Ireland has a proud tradition of standing on the right side of international law and human rights. If we fail to act, we will lose that tradition. We cannot always just hark back to the past; we must implement international law now.

In my last minute, I will touch on points we have heard already. There has been a complete incursion and an attack by Israeli forces, through drone strikes, on civilians in international waters off Crete. There has been breach after breach of international law, but this is another thing Israel seems to believe it can do with complete impunity.

On the incursions into Gaza city, Senator Ahearn mentioned previously that we heard from UNRWA’s deputy director, John White, who gave us horrific detail at a meeting of the foreign affairs committee on the state of affairs in Gaza city. As winter comes to Gaza, we will see cholera, infectious diseases and more deaths. People are making the decision just to wait in their homes while the tanks come, because there is nowhere else to go.

We have the E1 plan in the West Bank, a plan that was once upon a time, 30 years ago, a red line for Clinton and the US. The Israelis are currently implementing it. They are saying they are doing so only as a consequence of all the states recognising Palestinian statehood, but that is not a fact because they have been doing this for months. All these actions represent the impunity of the Israeli state. We had to say, “Enough is enough.” If we do not do it now, we will lose all sense of international law and order. One day, that will come back to bite us. International law and order exists only because we believe in it and implement it. If we do not implement it for Gaza, one day, whether it be in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe or the global north, international law we rely on will not be there to protect us.