Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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488. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the execution of a Jordanian airforce pilot by the group called ISIS and the execution of prisoners in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in reprisal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5793/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I condemn the murder of Jordanian pilot Lt. Moaz Al-Kasasbeh by the terrorist group ISIS. This murder, and the particularly cruel and immoral manner of it, is appalling. In a statement, I expressed my deep sympathies to his family and to the Jordanian nation on their loss.

Ireland, like our EU partners, has a strong and unequivocal opposition to the death penalty in all times and in all circumstances and accordingly seeks its universal abolition. We believe that its abolition contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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489. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on any contact his Department has had with the Embassy of Israel to Ireland and on any contact the Embassy of Ireland to Israel and the Representative Office of Ireland in Palestine has had with Israeli authorities regarding a case (details supplied); his views on the matter of the Israeli state jailing and detaining minors arrested in the occupied territories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5826/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The treatment of Palestinian children in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is of deep concern, and an issue on which Ireland has been active for some time.In October 2013, during the universal periodic review of Israel’s human rights record, Ireland expressed this concern and urged Israel to fully implement the recommendations of the February 2013 UNICEF report, entitled “Children in Israeli Military Detention”. We recommended that Israel end urgently night arrests of Palestinian children, the admissibility in evidence in military courts of written confessions in Hebrew signed by Palestinian children, the use of solitary confinement and the denial of access to family members or to legal representation. Bilaterally, our concerns regarding the detention of Palestinian minors have been raised as part of our ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities on the overall situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian population, both with the Israeli Embassy here and through our own Embassy in Tel Aviv.

We cannot attempt to follow each specific case in which these issues arise. The case cited by the Deputy has not previously come to the attention of my Department, although it is a clear example of the reasons why these practices are of such concern.

In my view, Palestinian children should be afforded the same rights and protections under the law which Israel rightly considers to be appropriate for Israeli children living alongside them.

The overall human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the treatment of children in detention, remains a matter of concern and will continue to be raised in the relevant multilateral fora, and to feature in the EU’s broader concerns about human rights in the area.

Similar concerns would exist in relation to the detention of children in many other states in the region.