Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister, Deputy Coveney. On 27 March, the Government took the decision to expel a Russian diplomat in what could only be described as an act of sycophantic fawning over its British counterpart. The Government asked us to trust British intelligence, the very same intelligence agencies that provided us with false information regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the same service that refuses to this day to release information on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Three days after the Government took that decision, 750 innocent Palestinian protesters were wounded by Israeli soldiers at a peaceful planned march in Gaza and 15 civilians were murdered that day. Over the two weeks which followed, the death toll reached 31 civilians, with more than 1,000 injured. Not one Israeli diplomat has been expelled. This was a predetermined, careful attack, which included sniper gunfire, drones, artillery and tear gas attacks on peaceful protesters. One of those innocent Palestinians was a journalist and since his murder, a video has been leaked to the press revealing Israeli soldiers cheering and celebrating as they used Palestinian protesters as sniper practice. Has the Minister seen the video? It is truly grotesque.

On 28 March I received a letter which highlighted the regular arrest and detention of Palestinian political representatives, concentrating lately on the Palestinian Legislative Council, PLC. Right now, 12 members of the PLC are being held in Israeli prisons, nine under internment without trial. Not content with arresting Palestinian parliamentarians, the Israeli Government also wanted to prevent the Lord Mayor of Dublin from entering occupied Palestine. Did the Minister consider summoning the Israeli ambassador to explain the hostility to the elected Lord Mayor? As he knows, Israel operates an apartheid state in occupied Palestine, where it is illegal for Palestinians to be a member of any political party. It is fine for Israeli citizens to be members of political parties and they have access to civilian courts but this is illegal for Palestinians, who are dealt with by military courts. I am sure the Minister already knows this; that is how apartheid works.

On 28 March I received a letter which highlighted the regular arrest and detention of Palestinian political representatives, concentrating lately on the Palestinian Legislative Council, PLC. Right now, there are 12 members of the PLC held in Israeli prisons, nine under internment without trial. Not content with arresting Palestinian parliamentarians, the Israeli Government also wanted to prevent the Lord Mayor of Dublin from entering occupied Palestine. Did the Minister consider summoning the Israeli ambassador to explain their hostility to our elected Lord Mayor? As he knows, Israel operates an apartheid state in occupied Palestine, where it is illegal for Palestinians to be a member of any political party. it is fine for Israeli citizens to be members of political parties and they have access to civilian courts, but it is illegal for Palestinians, who are dealt with by military courts. I am sure the Minister already knows this; that is how apartheid works.This is why 400 Palestinian children are languishing in Israeli jails right now. It is why Israel is in contravention of its commitments under the fourth Geneva convention, the international covenant on civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights covenants, the UN convention on the rights of the child, the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, the convention against torture and the convention for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. Unlike Russia, we have proof of Israel's crimes. The proof is the dead bodies being buried each week in Gaza, the leaked online videos of unarmed protesters being shot while they pray, the children in prison who were sentenced to ten years for throwing stones and the political representatives incarcerated in Israeli jails for simply representing the Palestinian people. Is it not time that our Government really stood up for human rights and not just with words? Is it not beyond time the Minister personally took a stand against apartheid and expelled the Israeli ambassador? I do not know what more evidence the Minister needs to take decisive action to expel the Israeli ambassador. His track record on Russia suggests he does not need any evidence, just a nod and wink from Boris Johnson.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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That is not exactly a balanced view on Irish-British relations coming from Sinn Féin, and not for the first time. With regard to the issue of substance the Senator has raised, I made two statements on behalf of the Government, on 31 March and on 9 April, on the recent violence on the Israel-Gaza border. I called on all parties to show restraint, in particular on the use of force by Israel against demonstrators. Any country is entitled to defend its borders, but use of force must be proportionate to any immediate threat. The number of people injured by live ammunition has been very troubling, and I support the calls by the EU and the UN Secretary General for an independent and transparent investigation into these events.

Events and images such as we have seen in recent weeks from Gaza are of great concern to many people, including myself, and I understand that there are very strong feelings that something must be done. I agree with those feelings. The situation in Gaza is unsustainable. I was there a couple of months ago, and I have been to Gaza on more than one occasion. I know the tension on the Israeli-Gaza border. I have witnessed it and spoken to people on that border. The issue here is how do we change all of this. How does Ireland influence and understand the perspective of Palestinians and Israelis with a view to trying to see a political solution which, ultimately, is the only way in which Palestinians living in Gaza will find some hope for the future and will allow them to turn away from demonstration, violence, frustration and tension because of the circumstances they find themselves in and the conditions in which they are currently living within Gaza, which are totally unacceptable?

Every time I go to Gaza and meet people, or meet people from there, they are educated people who understand exactly what is going on in the world. As a result of this, the depth of their frustration in terms of the restrictions they live under in Gaza is unbearable. That being said, what we need to focus on as politicians and as governments is to look at ways in which we can change that. Rather than simply gestures and actions of protest, we should be finding a way to ensure we contribute to political dialogue that brings about change. That is what I am about. The idea that by expelling an Israeli ambassador and, therefore, shutting an Israeli embassy in Dublin actually helps the efforts to find political solutions to problems that have been going on for decades simply does not stack up in my view. In diplomatic language, expelling an ambassador essentially means one is no longer interested in dialogue, and certainly that is not the approach of this Government and it is not my approach either. With respect, in my view, to take that approach would do nothing except offer a gesture of solidarity to Palestinians in the short term, but then we would be unable to help them in the medium term, which is what I would like to do, in our quest for a two-state solution that is fair to both Israelis and Palestinians. I intend to continue to talk to the Israeli Government and to the Israeli ambassador in Dublin, as I have done, on these issues and to the Palestinian ambassador here. I will continue to talk to Palestinian political leaders as well, as I have done on numerous occasions since becoming Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. I am interested in political solutions to very difficult problems that result in violence, discrimination and the totally unacceptable conditions within the occupied territories that Palestinians find themselves living in. I am afraid that the approach suggested by Senator Gavan would take Ireland's efforts in terms of changing that backwards rather than forwards.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his response, with which, I am sure he will not be surprised to hear, I am disappointed. He spoke about gestures and actions of protest. Unfortunately, what he has done to date amounts to just that. It is just words; and words are empty vessels at this point. This is an apartheid state with which we are dealing. I am a little older that the Tánaiste and I remember the same attitude among Fine Gael members in the 1980s to the situation South Africa at that time. The view then was that we needed to keep lines of dialogue open and that we should not take action. It was the Dunnes Stores strikers who helped change that situation. We are now all agreed that sanctions worked against the apartheid regime in South Africa. This is the road we need to travel. The Tánaiste need not take my word for this. Rather, he should take the word of the Palestinian people because this is what they are seeking. The time for empty gestures and words is long gone. The Tánaiste was in this Chamber a few months ago speaking about a potential peace process. There is no potential peace process, there is just more slaughter on the streets of Gaza and throughout Palestine. When will the Tánaiste recognise that Israel is an apartheid State? When will he recognise that fact and act accordingly?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Senator does not have a clue what I am doing. The only time he ever talks to me about this issue is when motions like this are tabled. Unlike many others who have a deep interest-----

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste is resorting to personal abuse.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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With respect, that is what is coming towards me from Senator Gavan. He said that I am doing nothing but he has no idea what I am doing.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste should tell us what he is doing.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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The Tánaiste has already given his reply to the Senator.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am responding to the Senator's suggestion that we advance Israeli-Palestinian relations and the pathway towards a negotiated solution by expelling the Israeli ambassador from Dublin. I think that would be counterproductive. In fact, I know it would be. That does not mean that we should not speak up and be critical of Israel's actions. I do that all the time. I speak directly to Israeli representatives and my counterparts in that regard. The Senator's approach that we should shut off Israel, not engage with it and take a one-sided view of this issue will not deliver an outcome that is lasting and peaceful and that makes sense for Palestinians in the medium term. That is why I totally reject it.