Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 24: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation in Gaza at present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16656/08]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the recent talks initiated by former President of the United States, Mr. Jimmy Carter in relation to the achievement of peace in the Middle East; the way Ireland and the European Union can advance such progress as has been made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16831/08]

Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts being made to broker a ceasefire in Gaza; the measures being taken to avoid a humanitarian crisis in the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16878/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress to date through the aegis of the EU or UN in the matter of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli issue with particular reference to the urgent need for humanitarian intervention at Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16933/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which the EU and UN have attempted to exert a positive influence on the situation in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17074/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 42, 45, 54 and 111 together.

I am extremely concerned about the dangerous humanitarian and security situation in Gaza. I am appalled that the civilian population continues to face the threat and the reality of violence, and I condemn in particular the killing of a woman and her four young children in an Israeli military operation in Bein Hanoun on Monday. There is an onus now on all parties to act decisively to restore momentum and credibility to the political process. It is important that the EU and the UN use the opportunity of the meeting of the international Quartet in London tomorrow to focus on the urgent need for political progress.

The EU has strongly supported the courageous move by the Prime Minister of Israel and the Palestinian President to enter into final status negotiations, with the objective of agreement by the end of 2008. However, Deputies will be aware that I have become increasingly concerned that events on the ground in Israel and the Occupied Territories will undermine the political process launched at Annapolis. The immediate priority must therefore be to end all violence in and from the Occupied Territories. This includes Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza on Israeli territory and Israeli military operations in the West Bank and Gaza. I have called very clearly for an end to the isolation of the people of Gaza and the urgent re-opening of crossing points for people and for goods and for the guaranteed delivery of fuel supplies for the power plant and for vehicles.

It is essential that restrictions are also lifted on the movement of Palestinians across the West Bank, and that the Israeli Government demonstrate a commitment to a genuine freeze on all settlement expansion. At the European Council in Brussels in March, the EU reiterated that settlement building anywhere in the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law, prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-State solution.

The Government and our EU partners strongly support the continuing efforts, being led by Egypt, to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, which could provide the basis for a wider agreement between the divided Palestinian groupings, and between Israel and the Palestinians. Any such agreement must involve an end to violence by Hamas and a commitment to the principles of the peace process. I welcome the recent efforts of former US President Jimmy Carter in this regard. It is also important that the Arab States develop their efforts further, on the basis of the historic Arab Peace Initiative which was reaffirmed clearly at the Arab Summit in Riyadh last year.

The European Union is the largest international donor in support of the Palestinian people, providing almost €1 billion in assistance last year alone. Ireland's assistance has risen by some 70% in the past two years, to €7.5 million in 2007. We will continue to respond to the needs of the Palestinian people. However, the Israeli — Palestinian conflict is essentially a political problem. The Government will continue to work directly with the parties, in co-operation with our EU partners and through the UN to promote a viable, negotiated two-State solution as the only sustainable solution to the dangerous situation now facing the Israeli and Palestinian people.