Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to visit Israel and Gaza in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23318/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am planning to visit Israel and Palestine in early June, as part of a wider visit which also encompasses Jordan and Cyprus. This will be my third visit to the region in the last year.

The programme elements of the visit are in the course of being confirmed, and I will be happy to report back to the Oireachtas on my return. I will not on this occasion be visiting Gaza, which I visited in January. While my visit was planned before the recent tragic events there, the future for Gaza has been a priority concern for me since taking office, and I have only been reinforced in that view.

In my meetings in Israel and Palestine, I expect that among the main issues to be discussed will be the prospects for resuming the peace process; recent events, including the terrible loss of life in Gaza; and ideas which I have pursued on my earlier visits for practical measures which might help improve conditions for the people there.