Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 Apr 2003

Vol. 564 No. 2

Foreign Conflicts.

Mr. F. McGrath

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity of raising the plight of the Palestinian people and of the international neglect of that issue over the last few years. I have been a supporter of the Palestinian cause for the past 20 years and now that I have been elected to this 29th Dáil I would like to highlight their cause and to urge the Government to take a more pro-active approach at both UN and EU levels.

The Palestinian people have a right to self-determination and any democrat must support that position. There is massive support in Ireland for the Palestinian cause but we do not use this understanding and sympathy enough to further their case. We need to be more responsive to the serious issues affecting the Palestinian people. It is simply not good enough to say that we sympathise with them but we also need to show solidarity, active support and assistance.

With the war in Iraq, the issue of the Palestinian people has gone off the political agenda. Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair have no genuine concern so it is up to the rest of us and the international community to push the Palestinian agenda. It is a question of justice and equality and above all it is a question of humanity.

Last week I had the honour and privilege of meeting the delegate general of Palestine in Ireland, Ali Halimeh, and I gave a commitment at that meeting to raise the case of the Palestinian people. That is why I raised this matter on the Adjournment. I hope that this debate will assist their cause and motivate the Government to do more internationally.

The Irish people know from history what it is like to be under a foreign power and to be denied the right to self-determination. We have come through a conflict and now we are trying to resolve it through the peace process. This is all the Palestinian people want and we all have a duty to support them.

It is also important to know and understand the horrific nightmare of the Palestine people. Throughout the current intifada, school children have suffered from increasing exposure to violence, trauma and poverty as well as from confinement and a lack of educational, social and cultural outlets due to the closures and curfews. Palestinians' rights to education have been violated through Israeli military curfews and closures, which prevent students and teachers from reaching their schools as well as the destruction and closure of some schools by the Israeli army. School children have been attacked by the Israeli army and illegal Jewish settlers while travelling to and from their places of study.

Between September 2000 and 2 January 2003 Israeli forces killed 239 Palestinian school children and wounded 2,500 on their way to or from school. Some 166 students and 75 teachers were arrested, 1,289 Palestinian schools were temporarily closed, 197 schools were damaged, 11 schools were completely destroyed, nine schools were vandalised, 25 schools have been taken over by the Israeli occupation forces for use as army barracks and detention centres and 185 schools were shelled by the Israeli defence forces. I ask the Minister to intervene and to bring aid to the Palestinian people. Perhaps he could raise the idea of bringing more graduates and students to Ireland on scholarships.

This is the horrific situation of the people in the occupied territories. I urge the Government to act on this grave injustice and also to act and support the UN resolutions that have been ignored by the US and Britain. Each day we see the slaughter of the Iraqi people which in itself is a crime against humanity but we should never allow the world to forget the deaths of the Palestinians. We must keep the issue on the international agenda. We have the power to do that.

The vast majority of the Palestinian people want to make peace with their neighbours and it is up to all of us as politicians, particularly in Ireland, with a strong tradition of neutrality to act as a broker and a mover for peace in the Middle East. Now is the time to show courage, vision and leadership and make the rights of the Palestinian people a priority issue in Ireland's foreign policy. People such as Sharon and Bush have nothing to offer their own people and above all they have nothing to offer in international relations. They are war mongers. Eventually the will of the people will win and countries around the world will respect each other's borders and live with the reality of peaceful conflict resolution.

I wish the Prime Minister elect, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, our best wishes and our support for the right of the Palestinian people to exist in peace.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Mr. Kitt)

In thanking Deputy McGrath for raising this important matter on the Adjournment, the Government has not in any way lost sight of the situation in Palestine or the need for international action to bring about a peaceful solution to the long-running conflict there. We are very conscious of the privations which Palestinians suffer in their daily lives under occupation and of the continuing toll of deaths and injuries in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs have frequent contact with the senior leadership of the Palestinian Authority, who are in no doubt as to the strength of Ireland's stance. In his contacts with President Arafat the Taoiseach has reaffirmed his personal support for the peace effort, his encouragement for international engagement, including the commitment of the European Council to a two State solution to the conflict as well as our complete rejection of Israel's illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The situation of the Palestinian people is a matter on which Ireland has taken a strong, consistent and principled position over the years. In 1980 Ireland was among the first member states of the European Union to advocate expressly the creation of a Palestinian state and we have worked to advance this aim ever since. The current position of the European Union, support for an independent, viable Palestinian State living in peace and security beside Israel, is in no small measure due to Ireland's energetic advocacy over the past two decades.

Our support takes practical forms as well. Since 2000 we have had resident diplomatic representation in the Palestinian territories in the form of our representative office in Ramallah. As well as serving as a channel of political communication and a symbol of Irish commitment, this mission oversees the disbursement of Ireland's development and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. The Government's programme of development assistance delivered through Ireland Aid has a sharp poverty focus with emphasis on humanitarian and emergency assistance. It aims to help the Palestinian people build their institutions and infrastructure in a difficult economic and political environment and strives to ensure that assistance to the Palestinian Authority helps those who are most in need.

In 2002, the Government delivered total funding of €6.3 million to Palestine. Almost half of this was targeted specifically at meeting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians directly affected by the conflict. This funding delivered through agencies such as the UN agencies and the Red Cross was in response to emergency appeals for funding for emergency shelter repair and reconstruction, emergency health, food, water and medical supplies.

I assure the Members that whatever the pressures or demands which may arise in connection with the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, we will continue to pay close attention to the needs of the Palestinian people and to provide them with humanitarian and development support. We will continue with our programme of assistance to the Palestinian Authority. At present this is running at €10 million per month in budgetary assistance which will shortly be redirected towards development projects. Ireland's support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights is in no doubt, nor is our commitment to Israel's right to live with secure borders at peace with its neighbours. In this spirit, Ireland's delegation on the UN Security Council worked tirelessly in 2001 and 2002. This is a matter of public record and is widely appreciated.

On the international scene there are also some hopeful signs. The international quartet of the US, Russia, the EU and the UN agreed a road map for a Palestinian state and a comprehensive settlement in December last. This document sets out a phased programme of actions in the political, security, economic and humanitarian areas which will reduce tensions and lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. It establishes independently verifiable benchmarks to be met by both sides. At present, it represents the best hope for a solution to the conflict, which has seen carnage visited on civilians on all sides. Due to the Israeli elections and other circumstances the US has been reluctant to adopt this road map formally and begin its implementation. On 13 March during his meeting in Washington with President Bush the Taoiseach raised the concerns which are widely felt in Europe at the lack of progress on the adoption of the road map. Other European leaders also expressed concern.

On 14 March President Bush announced that the road map will be presented to the parties as soon as the new Palestinian Cabinet is formed and approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council. This is expected to happen in the next week or so. It is a matter of fact that serious engagement by the United States is an inevitable prerequisite for any progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is recognised by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. We are now seeing signs of this engagement and we shall do all in our power to encourage it. Tomorrow, in Brussels, US Secretary of State Powell will meet EU Ministers to discuss the Middle East peace process. The EU side will again emphasise the need for early adoption of the road map and for sustained and even-handed US engagement in the terms set out in the conclusions of the European Council on 21 March.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the longest running on the international scene. There are rights and wrongs on both sides and bitter sacrifices will be demanded of all parties if peace is to be achieved. We know from our experience on this island that a peace process cannot produce instant harmony or dispel a legacy of bitterness and mistrust with a handshake or a signature. With the best will in the world, peace will not be established overnight by the international community. It is, in the final analysis, a commitment of trust which the parties themselves must make. Should they choose to make that commitment they will not find international support lacking. Ireland, as always, will be prominent among the states offering support for a commitment to peace.

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important subject.