Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he will assist in the context of influencing the EU and UN toward resumption of peace negotiations and address the human rights situation in Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5490/09]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the initiatives he has taken to encourage engagement in a peace process in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5491/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 157 together.

The priority right now, for all sides, remains the consolidation of the existing fragile ceasefire arrangements in Gaza through the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1860. Only when peace and security are fully restored to Gaza and southern Israel will the parties be able to fully focus on reviving the peace process. With that in mind, I am encouraged by recent reports that an Egyptian-brokered permanent ceasefire deal may be imminent. Any such permanent ceasefire also needs to be coupled with full re-opening of border crossings into Gaza to end the unjustified economic isolation of the people of Gaza which has existed over the past eighteen months.

Beyond the immediate crisis in Gaza, the international community must work to restore momentum and credibility to the Middle East peace process. For a renewed political process to be credible, it must not only address the core issues of the conflict but must also aim to improve the daily lives of the people most affected. For a start, the parties must be encouraged to implement their obligations under the Quartet Roadmap. This must involve an end to all violence in and from the Occupied Territories, the lifting of checkpoints, the easing of restrictions on movement for Palestinians, and the end of the confiscation of Palestinian land. Prisoner releases would also make a significant contribution to the reduction of tensions.

I am particularly alarmed, however, by yet more reports of increased Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. As I have stated repeatedly, continued settlement construction has a direct, negative impact on the political process. It also prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-State solution. If Israel is serious about reaching a political settlement, it must impose a genuine freeze on settlement expansion and I hope that this is an undertaking which is pursued by the new Israeli government. I have made this point directly to the Israeli Ambassador, to the Israeli Minister of Education when I met with her in January, and indeed to Foreign Minister Livni during my visit to Israel in July 2008.

Ireland will continue to work closely with our EU partners to ensure that the European Union continues to play a leading role in promoting a comprehensive settlement in the region. It remains a strategic priority, both for Ireland and for the EU, to contribute to the achievement of a negotiated two-State solution. I believe that there is now a clear opportunity, in light of the recent Gaza crisis and the election of a new Administration in the United States, for the European Union to step up its engagement in search of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East and to play a more active role in its own right and alongside the other members of the Quartet (US, UN, Russia). The desire to see such a stronger EU engagement was clearly communicated to me during my recent visit to Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

One particular way in which the EU could increase its engagement in the region is through increased cooperation between the EU and the Palestinian Authority. In December, my Cypriot colleague and I sent a joint letter to all members of the EU External Relations Council urging that we explore ways in which we might further enhance our relationship with the Palestinian Authority. I believe the earliest and full implementation of the EU-PLO Interim Association Agreement, as well as the initiation of a more structured dialogue with the Palestinian Authority, would serve to increase the EU's capacity to influence events on the ground.