Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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140. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware that the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has published a new report which addresses the latest developments of the state of the Gaza Strip border crossings in May 2016; that it details the devastating impact that the blockade is having on economic and social conditions in Gaza; that it refutes Israel’s claims that it has eased the closure of the Gaza Strip; that the report highlights that Israel is attempting to institutionalise the closures and blockade by making the illegal restrictions imposed on the movement of persons and goods acceptable on the international level although they violate the international law, including the international humanitarian and human rights laws; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21770/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the cited report from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, an NGO which is supported by my Department. The report adds to the large volume of information already available on the situation in Gaza, published by UN organisations and international NGOs.

Ireland has consistently drawn attention over many years to the situation in Gaza, and the need to break the hopeless cycle of counterproductive restrictions on border movements of goods and people, punctuated by destructive episodes of serious violence. In particular, the EU has called consistently for the opening of Gaza’s borders to the normal movement of people and goods.

I discussed the situation in Gaza with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and with Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah, during my recent visit. I also received a detailed briefing on the current situation from the UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General, Sandra Mitchell, who had that day returned from Gaza.

It is also important to recognise that Israel has legitimate security concerns about attacks from Gaza, although we do not consider that the current regime of restrictions are necessitated by or contribute to meeting those security needs. Instead, the situation in Gaza does not provide security for either Palestinians or Israelis, and it is imperative on authorities on both sides to try to find a new way forward. It was hoped that such a process might follow the Cairo conference on Gaza reconstruction in October 2016, which I attended, but so far this has not happened.

UN organisations have detailed a number of relaxations of the border controls in various ways in recent years. For example, UNRWA briefed me on the considerable progress that has been made in the reconstruction of schools and medical facilities. It would be unhelpful to deny such positive moves as there are.

However, I have also been quite clear that these measures, welcome as they have been, are not enough, and that conditions in Gaza remain unacceptable.

If Israel has been attempting to make the restrictions on Gaza “acceptable at the international level”, to use the Deputy’s phrase, although the report does not really say anything about this, they have clearly not succeeded.