Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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72. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions he plans to take to on behalf of the State to protest at the prison sentence handed to a Palestinian teenager by Israeli courts recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14218/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question no 50 today on this topic, which was as follows: The treatment of Palestinian minors under the Israeli occupation and military justice system has long been an issue of serious concern, which we have discussed here and which the Government has raised with the Israeli authorities and at EU and international level, including statements by Ireland at the UN Human Rights Council. I have expressed these concerns myself directly to Israeli leaders during my recent visit to the region in January. Despite occasional improvements on specific details, worsening aspects have been accurately tracked in reports such as those by UNICEF, referred to by the Deputy, and a recent report by B’Tselem, an Israeli NGO with whom we have contact.

For me, the bottom line is that Palestinian children are clearly subject to widespread treatment which Israel would – correctly – consider to be unacceptable for its own children.

The case to which the Deputy refers is one which exhibits many issues that concern us. Firstly, the way in which protest against the occupation can be criminalised and suppressed. Secondly the exertion of political pressure in Israel to press the military authorities to take heavy handed and highly publicised action against a Palestinian family who posed no genuine security threat. And thirdly the treatment of Palestinian minors and their families to pressure them to accept plea bargains which then supposedly justify the whole process.

I believe that the Israeli authorities should re-examine these approaches in this case and in others. Until they do so, the image of Israel and the legal system imposed on Palestinians will be gravely impaired.