Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

65. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the work he has undertaken on the Palestine-Israel situation; the expected outcome of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3897/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Middle East Peace Process is a matter of deep concern to me, and the Deputy will be aware of the attention I have given to this issue since assuming this office. It is a priority for the Government, and for the Irish people, to do what we can to bring the Israel-Palestine situation to a resolution which is just and equitable for both peoples.

With the political process having been at a standstill for some time, I have made my views clear that the international community needs to increase their engagement in order to move forward. Ireland has worked consistently, particularly at EU level, to maintain an international focus on the issue and support for the two state solution. The violent events in recent months have highlighted that the situation is only likely to deteriorate if solutions continue to be put off.   

I have visited Israel and Palestine three times over the last eighteen months, holding meetings with the key interlocutors in both places, including both President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu. These visits have allowed me to raise Ireland's priorities forthrightly and directly with the key decision makers, as well as listening to their concerns for the security and dignity of their peoples. I was also delighted to welcome President Abbas to Ireland in September, his first visit in ten years, during which he had good meetings with the President and the Taoiseach.

In December, Ireland proposed a Resolution at the UN General Assembly on a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. This Resolution, which reaffirmed the long-standing and broadly agreed parameters for a two-state solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, was adopted by an overwhelming majority of 156 UN states. Ireland has, and will continue, to take a firm stance on matters relating to the Palestinian people and the Middle East Peace Process.

At Israel’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council last year, Ireland raised the continued expansion of settlements, and urged that Israel abide by its international legal obligations, including under the Fourth Geneva Convention, on the treatment of a civilian population under military occupation. I reiterated our concerns about these policies in my speech to the UN General Assembly in September.

On the ground, Ireland works closely with like-minded countries to protect Palestinians in the West Bank from individual and mass forcible transfer, through the provision of humanitarian assistance. Ireland takes a leading role in coordinating advocacy on these issues. Ireland also provides significant humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinian people, and I increased Ireland's contribution to UNRWA by €3 million in 2018, in view of the strain it is under following the withdrawal of US support. I have also initiated new solar energy and scholarship programmes as a contribution to the development of the Palestinian people.

However, I am all too aware that the pressure on Palestinian communities continues to grow. I have considered ways considered how the EU and the wider international community can productively engage and better use all the levers at our disposal to influence the parties to the conflict. I am convening a small gathering of European and Arab Foreign Ministers in Dublin in February, to discuss the Middle East Peace Process. Ireland will work with the Palestinians, as well as supportive Arab and European participants on discussing the current situation, longer term prospects and developments, and where best to go from here.