Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the remarks by Israeli Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, that the goal of Israel’s recent military action against Gaza was to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages; and if he has raised the issue with the Israeli authorities and his colleagues in the European Union. [1661/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am aware of the comments referred to. Minister Yishai is a member of a small ultra-religious party. He does not have responsibility within the Israeli Government for Israeli foreign or defence policy. Nor is he a member of the Cabinet subcommittee which decides on security issues. While remarks such as these are clearly unhelpful and provocative, and serve merely to inflame thinking in both communities, they do not constitute official Israeli Government policy and in my view do not merit a response. This is also the view taken by Ireland’s EU and other international partners.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the raid at 3 am on 11 December 2012 by Israeli military forces on the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights office in Ramallah in which the office was ransacked and valuable equipment including four laptops were confiscated; and if he shares any concerns on the matter. [1658/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I was deeply concerned at the raid which took place on the Addameer office in Ramallah on 11 December 2012. Ireland has provided annual support to Addameer since 2007, including a recent contribution of €60,000 in 2012. The organisation works to assist prisoners and their families through the provision of free legal advice and representation in Israeli military courts. Addameer also documents human rights violations and conducts regular prison visits.

On the morning of 11 December 2012, soldiers of the Israeli Defence Forces raided the offices of three Palestinian non-governmental organisations in Ramallah: the Union of Palestinian Women Committees, the Palestinian NGO Network and Addameer. I understand that hardware, legal files and other material were removed from the Addameer offices during the raid. While the hardware has already been replaced by a donation, work to replace the files and to resume normal day-to-day activities will be heavily time-consuming and costly for the organisation.

Following the raids, the EU Delegation to the Palestinian Territory issued a strong statement expressing its concerns and that of all EU member States. Such incursions by Israeli forces into Palestinian cities, where the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords assumes the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order, put in jeopardy the internationally recognised success of Palestinian institution-building efforts. Ireland fully supports this statement.

We will continue to work closely with our NGO partners in Palestine, including Addameer, to ensure that they can carry out their work safely and effectively to protect human rights in Palestine.