Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

151. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps being taken to address a serious issue (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59611/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In relation to the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, I have welcomed agreement on the deal which is a significant achievement and an important step on the road to peace. Our focus is now on preserving the ceasefire and ensuring that humanitarian aid flows into and throughout Gaza. Ireland has been clear that all parties must adhere to their commitments in full, desist from any actions inconsistent with what has been agreed, and continue to negotiate in good faith to ensure full implementation.

The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the situation in the West Bank remain a central focus of my engagement with my EU and other international counterparts. At the EU level, the situation in Gaza and in the West Bank was at the centre of the recent discussions at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. During that meeting, I called for further efforts to ensure that humanitarian aid enters Gaza at scale. The people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering. The scale of destruction and need is starkly evident.

I have also not lost sight of the situation in the West Bank where Israeli military operations have displaced at least 40,000 people since January 2025. I am deeply concerned by increasing extremist settler violence and illegal settlement construction. As work to implement the next phase of the 20-point plan progresses, the West Bank must be centrally considered as part of efforts to reach agreement on a durable peace plan with the implementation of the two-State solution at its core. I welcome the strong US statements clearly opposing annexation of the West Bank.

At the recent Foreign Affairs Council and during the UN High Level Week in New York in September, I emphasised the importance of the two-State solution that unifies the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. In my remarks at the Global Alliance for the Implementation of Two-State Solution, I underlined Ireland’s strong support for the two-State solution, and for the outcome document from the UN High Level Conference on the Question of Palestine and Implementation of the Two State Solution, the 'New York Declaration.' I announced that Ireland will host a meeting of the Global Alliance in Dublin in early 2026, where we will share lessons from our own peace process in Northern Ireland.