Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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99. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will join other Dáil Éireann leaders in condemning the Israeli Government’s theft of Palestinian land. [35217/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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On 1 September I issued the following statement on behalf of the Government:

“I strongly condemn the appropriation yesterday by Israel of a large block of Palestinian land in the West Bank, which is expected to be used for the creation of a major new Israeli settlement in this highly sensitive area.

Ireland has repeatedly made clear that settlements are illegal under international law and their presence and continued expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory is incompatible with the aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians for peace and the realisation of the two-State solution. This remains the only viable framework for the achievement of a sustainable, democratic and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

I call upon the Israeli Government to reconsider this decision as a matter of urgency. This announcement represents a serious threat to the viability of the two-State solution to which Ireland is fully committed.”

I equally condemn the decision authorized on behalf of the Israeli government last week to proceed with a further major settlement expansion of 2600 units in the highly sensitive area of Givat Hamatos in East Jerusalem. This announcement has been widely criticized internationally, including by the Obama Administration, as hugely damaging to ongoing peace efforts and any prospects of establishing a viable, contiguous Palestinian State. I would again urge that this decision should be reversed immediately, if we are to continue to have any confidence in the professed desire of the Israeli government to negotiate a just two-State solution.