Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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42. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the Israeli Government’s decision to build a new illegal colonial settlement in the occupied West Bank (details supplied); if he will raise his objections to this new illegal colonial settlement and the other 143 with his Israeli counterpart; and his views on whether sanctions should be placed on Israel for its continued and blatant violations of international and human rights law. [18296/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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There have been a number of deeply disappointing and damaging announcements by the Israeli Government in relation to settlements in recent months, both large scale construction approvals and now the authorisation of an entirely new settlement.

I have consistently made clear Ireland’s views on the settlement enterprise. Settlements are illegal, they actively undermine the prospects for a sustainable negotiated two-state solution, and the relentless expansion of settlements inherently involves injustice for Palestinians. These actions gravely damage Israel’s reputation, and are incompatible with its government’s declarations of support for a negotiated, peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It is particularly troubling when, as in the case of this new settlement announcement, seizures of Palestinian land and breaches of international law are undertaken in what might be seen as a manoeuvre in Israeli domestic politics, to ‘compensate’ settlers and nationalists for a political disappointment on some other front.

The international community has very clearly expressed its similar views on settlements, most recently in Security Council Resolution 2334 adopted in December, and the Declaration of the Paris Conference, which I attended in January.

Ireland’s concerns about settlements are raised with the Israeli authorities on every appropriate occasion, and are also clearly expressed at EU level and in other international fora. They are very well aware of our views.

The suggestion of sanctions is made regularly by the Deputy and others. Sanctions are not a standard response to breaches of human rights: there are very many states around the world about whom we would have very serious human rights concerns. Crucially, moreover, they can only be applied if there is general agreement to them. Successive Ministers have made quite clear that there is no prospect of sanctions being agreed at EU or UN level.