Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The conflict between Israel and Palestine was not on the agenda of the most recent meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 13 May.

The rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, and the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza which occurred in early May, were matters of deep concern to me and to the EU generally. I absolutely deplore the deaths of civilians on both sides as a result of these events. I issued a public statement on 5 May calling for de-escalation of the situation, and thankfully a ceasefire came into effect on 6 May. The situation therefore did not arise at the Council.