Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 May 2003

Vol. 567 No. 7

Written Answers. - Human Rights Abuses.

Finian McGrath

Question:

41 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has discussed the issue of the continued confiscation of Palestinian land and destruction of Palestinian buildings by the Israeli authorities for the construction of the separation wall with his colleagues within the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14839/03]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

The question of illegal land seizures by the Israeli authorities was considered by the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 19 May. The conclusions of the Council on the matter state:

The Council continues to be alarmed at the ongoing illegal settlement activities and land confiscations for the construction of the so-called security fence, which are an obstacle to peace by threatening to render the two-state solution physically impossible.

The Government has consistently taken the view that the transfer of its own population into occupied territory by an occupying power is a flagrant breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The settlements established in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by the Israeli authorities are illegal and must be dismantled. Land seizures by the occupation forces for the purposes of settlement are null and void.