Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 14 Nov 2023

Vol. 1045 No. 4

Escalation of Violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Matt Carthy

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

condemns and deplores the escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory since 7th October, particularly the killing of innocent men, women and children, the taking hostage and imprisonment of civilians, the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the mass forced displacement of civilians;

notes that:

— Ireland is a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC);

— An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, has described "cutting off power, cutting off fuel supplies and water supplies" as "collective punishment", which is prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and has described "targeting civilians and cutting off civilian infrastructure" by Israel as a "breach of international humanitarian law";

— An Tánaiste, Micheál Martin TD, has stated "I believe that what Israel is doing is disproportionate, it's not necessary" and that it "contravenes the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, where the concepts and principles of necessity and proportionality are key";

— the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has stated "I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear: No party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law";

— the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, has stated "there is no question that Hamas is responsible for crimes, war crimes, and this goes without saying. At the same time, the response that Israel has given doesn't meet international standards either, and I cannot find one provision of international law that has not been violated by Israel as the occupying power, who is acting in the name of self-defence, because even self-defence has limits";

— the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has stated that "cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people, is against international law";

— the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has stated that "The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law" and that both "the collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians" and "unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians" amount to war crimes;

— the EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Peter Stano, has highlighted the duty of Israel to protect Palestinians in the West Bank from an "upsurge of settler terrorism";

— the outgoing Director of the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Craig Mokhiber, referred to the situation in Gaza as "a text-book case of genocide";

— seven UN Special Rapporteurs said that they "remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide";

— the Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim A. A. Khan KC, has called "upon state parties to the ICC and non-state parties to help collectively vindicate the Geneva Conventions, to help collectively vindicate principles of customary international law and also principles of the Rome Statute, to share evidence regarding any allegations or any crimes so that we can properly investigate them and prosecute them as appropriate"; and

— An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, has stated that a failure to observe humanitarian law cannot be "inconsequential forever" and that "double standards will lead to no standards if not checked";

reiterates its call for immediate ceasefires, for the immediate release of all hostages, and for the unconditional adherence by all parties to their commitments under international law and the UN Charter; and

mandates the Irish Government to exercise Ireland’s right under Article 14, and other relevant articles, of the Rome Statute of the ICC to refer the situation in the State of Palestine to the Prosecutor of the ICC for the purpose of requesting the Prosecutor to investigate any acts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide alleged to have occurred on the territory of Palestine from 7th October, 2023 onwards, including any allegations of current and ongoing crimes occurring within that territory.

There is now an acronym that is ascribed to some children in hospitals in Gaza: WCNSF, wounded child no surviving family. No other term sums up the tragic horrendous human cost of the brutal attacks that Israel is perpetrating against the civilian population of Palestine than that. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to a segment on the RTÉ "Drivetime" radio programme that featured Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, who is a surgeon working in Gaza, and Dr. Omar Abdel-Mannan, who is a founder of Gaza Medic Voices. I encourage every Deputy to listen back to their harrowing accounts. Describing the situation in Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, Dr. Abu Sitta reported:

We are only able to take the most critically wounded life-saving surgeries to the operating room. Everyone else is bandaged up and kept on hospital grounds and there is just no end in sight. We are surrounded by the sound of gunfire and tank fire and air raids and every half hour there is a new influx of wounded brought in by the ambulance service. We set up a field hospital just to figure out who we can help.

Dr. Abdel-Mannan said:

The situation is absolutely horrific. I wake up thinking it cannot get worse and then we hear of atrocities happening that are 100% man-made ... We have heard reports, first-hand eyewitnesses' accounts, that Israeli snipers are firing at nursing staff in a hospital and killing them. We have heard reports of patients trying to flee when there is a moment of peace between bombardment after bombardment and they are shot as they leave the hospital as if they were animals trying to flee.

He set out the context:

This is what happens when you dehumanise a whole population of 2 million people and through the systemic targeting of the population of healthcare facilities and healthcare workers. We have a healthcare system that has collapsed, a result of the direct pressure of displacing 1 million people from the north to the south. We have 5,000 children killed, 1,000 under the rubble.

Referring to Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Abdel-Mannan said:

There were 60,000 people sheltering in that hospital, refugees sitting, sleeping, eating in the hospital grounds, a hospital 500% over its bed capacity. This hospital has been evacuated so I don't know where these people went. I imagine they fled but I imagine a large proportion of them have been killed and that these are the bodies that are lying there.

There are reports, first-hand eyewitness reports, of stray dogs eating the flesh from these bodies.

He also had to respond to the Israeli propaganda that somehow the barbarity inflicted on them is justified because Israel claims these hospitals are Hamas bases:

We, as a medical staff, have been to every one of these hospitals. We have had unfettered access into every single operating theatre and clinic in those buildings. We have never seen anything that amounts to Hamas militant activity.

I suppose it is down to who you believe - those doctors on the ground trying to save the lives of innocent children or the Israel Defense Forces, IDF, which has made those children WCNSF, wounded child no surviving family.

Dr. Ghassan was asked what he expects over the coming days he and his reply was:

Just more of the same in terms of the wounded, more of the same in terms of the sense of helplessness and absolute isolation and a sense of betrayal by a world that seems to have decided to look the other way. [He implored] I am surrounded by families like yours and mine who have had their lives torn apart for the past 37 days. Our shared humanity dictates that people stand up and be counted.

Dr. Abdel-Mannan asked:

What are we teaching our children? How can we, as a collective community of human beings, look at ourselves in the mirror and say to our children and our grandchildren we allowed, in 2023, 2 million Gazans to potentially be wiped off the face of the planet?

What Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta and Dr. Omar Abdel-Mannan have described are war crimes. They are calling for ceasefires, as this House rightly has done. However, they are also calling for action to exert pressure on Israel. The Sinn Féin motion is a response to the cries from Gaza. It sets out simply that Ireland will use our voice by referring these heinous acts to the International Criminal Court, ICC. The Government countermotion does not set out a single argument as to why it cannot make this referral and only provides excuses as to why it will not. A referral to the ICC can be made by Ireland and it should be made. There should be no excuses. The Sinn Féin motion should be adopted unanimously as a response from Ireland to the obscenity that is WCNSF, wounded child no surviving family.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

Over the past month and more, the world has watched in absolute horror as the Gazan people face annihilation. Missiles rain down on 2 million people who have been denied food, fuel and water in one of the most densely populated areas in the world. We are bearing witness to a cataclysmic event. We are bearing witness to war crimes. We are bearing witness to genocide. Israel acts with impunity through its indiscriminate slaughter of a trapped population. Entire families have been killed in their beds; many more are trapped in the rubble. Some 1.1 million have been forcibly displaced in an event that echoes the Nakba of 1948. Schools, hospitals and vital infrastructure are being flattened. Where they still stand, blackouts are a constant risk, with the likelihood that fuel will completely run out on Thursday.

This ferocious siege is not out of character for Israel. For decades Palestinians have had their lives ravaged and brutalised by Israel's apartheid regime. They have been living under an occupation, blockaded for 16 years. Their land has been occupied and annexed. They have been denied the right to return.

What is the international community doing? In truth, very little. Those countries that have remained silent are complicit and have set the context in which the deaths of thousands of men, women and children are viewed as permissible. Shame on those western countries that have failed to speak up to call for a ceasefire. Even greater shame on those countries that have called this mass slaughter a legitimate act of self-defence.

We must take a stand against Zionist, racist sentiments that are deployed to legitimate mass displacement and ethnic cleansing. We must call for a ceasefire now and hold Israel to account. It must be held to account at the International Criminal Court, ICC. Without a resounding and unified voice from the international community, Palestinians will remain under constant and existential threat. Ireland can and must lead. I call on the Government to support the motion and to make the referral to the ICC.

Deputy Sorca Clarke

We must refer Israel to the ICC. Its actions have horrified those of us across Europe and the wider world who are graced with the protection of distance from these attacks. The deliberate targeting and killing of thousands of civilians, with the targeting and destroying of civilian infrastructure, hospitals and schools and the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, is beyond comprehension at this point. This afternoon it was reported not only that hospitals are struggling to maintain desperately needed life support and equipment to treat those who are wounded, but also that Palestine's mortuaries are running out of electricity to preserve the dead for dignified burial. We have heard of mass graves being opened not because of any inclination to do so but because of the desperate need to do so. The entire population of Gaza is now a humanitarian case. There are half a million settlers in the West Bank. While what has been happening in Gaza continues, we have seen the worst situation in the West Bank for many years in terms of the number of people being killed. The Irish Government must exercise its right under Article 14 of the Rome Statute and refer Israel to the ICC.

Our Taoiseach has spoken of collective punishment. The cutting off of water, electricity and food to mass civilian populations is absolutely against humanitarian law. While the Minister of State may differ from a lot of what we do, I trust he is somebody with a level of humanity who recognises this as being absolutely, catastrophically wrong. We see, as Irish people, the plight of the Palestinians and see the egregious destruction being rained down on them relentlessly, day in and day out. We want to see a pathway for peace and want to see hostages released, but we also want to see those who are responsible for this destruction held to account for it. This is an issue of humanity. It is a question of what we place value on. We may be a small country but our voice is powerful and will not go unnoticed. It is in the power of the Irish Government to refer Israel to the ICC, and that is what should be done because it is the right thing to do.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

As the Minister of State knows, long before the recent disastrous events in Palestine and Israel, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and B'Tselem designated Israel as an apartheid state. On 18 July 1984 Mary Manning, a shop worker at Dunnes Stores on Henry Street, here in Dublin, refused to handle South African goods in protest against its apartheid regime. Three years later Ireland became the first state in the western world to ban imports of South African goods. That is the stand we took back then. We led the way and the rest of the world continued on that path, and eventually that apartheid regime was brought down and justice was delivered for all the South African people.

Despite the fact that the occupied territories Bill was passed by both Houses, it was not implemented. Despite the fact that my colleague, Deputy Brady, brought forward the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill, it was not accepted or implemented. At some point we have to go back to the approach we took during the South African challenge from people who upheld humanity and decency across the world, starting with that woman, Mary Manning, and all her colleagues who joined her.

The appeal, therefore, is to go back to the practices we had in the past that were the right ones to make a stand for what is right and decent. All the Deputies here, led by our spokesperson, Deputy Carthy, have outlined and will outline the disastrous genocide taking place. We have to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court. We have to take a stand in line with our tradition in this country of standing up for people who are oppressed and standing up against oppressive regimes.

Deputy Johnny Guirke

Distressing as it is to see, hear and read what is happening in Gaza, great credit must be given to the doctors, aid workers, photographers and camera crews who risk their lives every day to tell us these horrific stories. Without them we would not be able to call on those responsible to stop.

I thank people right across the world who have come out in their millions to support the Palestinian people. I want to see the release of Emily Hand and all other hostages, including those in Israeli jails. There are also the 2.2 million hostages who have been penned into Gaza for the past 17 years. In the past five weeks, 11,200 Palestinians have been killed, with 4,600 of those being children. Some 28,000 have been injured. Some 1.5 million people have been displaced. A child is being killed every ten minutes. Some 3,250 Palestinians are missing under the rubble, and 1,700 of those are children. Some 50 media workers have been killed, including 38 journalists. Some 101 aid workers have been killed. Twenty-two of Gaza's 35 hospitals have been forced to close down, and most medical clinics have closed. Babies are dying because there is no electricity or fuel for incubators. The daily existence of the Palestinian people has become an endless cycle of despair.

World leaders look on while men, women and children are being slaughtered. I wonder to myself why. Is it because those leaders want a base in the Middle East? Is it because Israel has too much power, money and influence in their countries? Is it because the European Union has licensed €2 billion in arms sales to Israel since 2012? Is it because the Palestinian people are not as white as the rest of us and their lives do not matter? Or is it all of the above?

While I am not directly impacted by what is going on in Gaza, I find it very hard to watch the news every night. For hours I think of what the world is letting happen to the Palestinian people. I ask world leaders in the West: how do you sleep at night, giving Israel a free hand to do what it likes and to answer to nobody? You need to stop treating them like spoiled brats. It is time you got the courage to say "Stop". I say to Netanyahu and his war cabinet, I hope and pray that I live long enough to see you before the International Criminal Court, where you belong. To the Palestinian people, my heart goes out for you. You have the support of right-minded people right across the world. Ireland stands with you. Remember: it is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most who will win.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I commend all the people who gathered in Ballina on Sunday. It was not lost on those in attendance that it is the ancestral home of Joe Biden. The response of European leaders to the onslaught on Gaza and to the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians is a failure they will have to explain to future generations.

It makes a mockery of the much-claimed European values. When I look at the European response, I see a colonial outlook and values. Ireland has, so far, been a light in the very, very dark sky. This is not the time, however, to be patting ourselves on the back. Every day which goes by, Israel slaughters hundreds more Palestinians. I commend the Government for speaking up for the Palestinian people and for saying that there must be consequences for breaking international law. Now, action must follow those words. This Government should refer Israel to the International Criminal Court, ICC, which can investigate war crimes against the Palestinian people. Israel is a serial breaker of international law, as recognised by this House. There should already be harsh diplomatic economic sanctions in place. All we are asking for is that Israel be referred to the International Criminal Court. If this is too far and too much to ask, then the Government's words about war crimes and consequences are meaningless. We cannot sit by and watch ethnic cleansing and genocide unfold on our screens. We should do anything to put pressure on Israel to call a ceasefire, or to hold a mirror for other western governments that they see that they are on the wrong side of history, that they are providing political cover to a violent Israeli regime, and that they should listen to the groundswell of support among people all over the world for a ceasefire and justice for Palestine. I truly urge the Minister of State and every representative in this Dáil to support this motion. Let us come together on this, to send this strong message on behalf of Irish people, a message which says that we see these atrocities for what they are and that we see the unimaginable violence directed at the Palestinian people.

Deputy John Brady

Israel is carrying out war crimes in Gaza on a daily basis as it has been doing on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem for decades now. The collective punishment of the civilian population in Gaza is a war crime. It has led to the deaths of over 11,000 civilians, two thirds of whom are women and children. Some 101 UN workers have been murdered. This is the highest number in any conflict in the UN's history. Israel has instrumentalised human aid as a weapon of war and despite the fact that the situation in Palestine was referred to the International Criminal Court in 2014, the ICC has been unable to investigate Israeli war crimes primarily because of a lack of funding. This is also because of the blatant interference by both Israel and the United States, combined with the ambivalence of the international community.

Both Israel and the US have claimed that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction. Israel described the Palestinian Authority's referral of Israel to the ICC as a hostile act, and threatened the Palestinian Authority with the withholding of taxes and customs collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Donald Trump went further, actually imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court prosecutors and threatening legal action against them if they investigated Israeli war crimes. The immunity which has been conferred on Israel by the international community for its past and continuing international crimes in the occupied territories has emboldened Israel's efforts during the current wave of violence. Ireland needs to make a referral to the International Criminal Court for Israel's war crimes in Gaza.

In 2022, the Government provided €3 million to the ICC investigation in Ukraine. The Belgian Government recently provided €5 million for the ICC to investigate the war crimes in Palestine. The Irish Government needs to match that funding if not to go further.

The Government also needs to support the immediate advancement of the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill because the Government has made the Irish taxpayers shareholders in the crimes being perpetrated by Israel as we speak. Ireland needs to send a clear message that the days of Israel's immunity for its war crimes is over. I plead with the Minister of State to do the right thing, to be on the right side of history, to support the motion and to refer Israel to its right place which is the Hague and the International Criminal Court.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Deputy Sean Fleming)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"strongly condemns the attack by Hamas on the people of Israel on 7th October and deplores the escalation of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory since then, particularly the killing of innocent men, women and children, the taking of hostages, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the mass displacement of civilians;

notes that:

— the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the cornerstone of the system of international criminal justice and not only promotes and upholds the rule of law but also pursues accountability for the most serious international crimes;

— Ireland has been a consistent and strong supporter of the Court, and its independence and impartiality, since its inception in 2002; and Ireland commits to make a further financial contribution to the court, specifically in the context of its investigation into the situation in Palestine and Gaza;

— the independence and impartiality of the Court is a crucial element of its mandate, as set out in the Rome Statute; and

— international humanitarian law, including the prohibition on the targeting of civilians, the principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality, the prohibition on collective punishment, and the prohibition on the taking of hostages and use of 'human shields', applies to all armed conflicts and is binding on all parties to conflict, state and non-state actors alike;

further notes that:

— the Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, announced the opening of an investigation into the situation in Palestine (including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem) in March 2021; the investigation covers all crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, alleged to have been committed since 2014; and the Court may exercise its jurisdiction over any such crimes committed within Palestine as well as by Palestinian nationals outside it (including in Israel);

— the Prosecutor has reaffirmed that this investigation covers the current, ongoing conflict, including all events on and from 7th October this year and he has called 'upon state parties to the ICC and non-state parties to help collectively vindicate the Geneva Conventions, to help collectively vindicate principles of customary international law and also principles of the Rome Statute, to share evidence regarding any allegations or any crimes so that we can properly investigate them and prosecute them as appropriate'; and

— the Prosecutor has also stated that 'my primary, and indeed my only objective, must be to achieve justice for the victims and to uphold my own solemn declaration under the Rome Statute as an independent prosecutor, impartially looking at the evidence and vindicating the rights of victims whether they are in Israel or Palestine'; and

calls:

— for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and for the unconditional adherence by all parties to their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law;

— on all state parties to the Rome Statute to provide political and financial support to the Court, to ensure that the ICC has sufficient resources to deliver its mandate, particularly in relation to Gaza and Palestine;

— on all states, including those not party to the Rome Statute, to cooperate with the Court, including cooperation with requests for assistance by the Court in respect of its investigations in Gaza and Palestine; and

— on the Government to ensure that justice and accountability apply equally to all people, in all situations, and reiterates that all victims deserve their rights to be vindicated equally.".

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Deputies for their attention. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the tragic and shocking events we have witnessed over the last few weeks in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territory. The situation in Gaza has escalated to a horrifying degree and we have also seen a very worrying surge in violence in the West Bank.

We cannot ignore the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes in Gaza. The reports that have emerged of the situation on the ground are truly shocking and efforts to preserve civilian life must be redoubled.

From the start of this recent serious escalation in violence, Ireland has been to the forefront of the international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. The Tánaiste has highlighted the importance of reflecting Ireland’s longstanding belief that the path to peace and security for all the people of Israel and Palestine lies in dialogue and a peace process. As the violence has escalated, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have called repeatedly for an immediate and urgent humanitarian ceasefire.

We have also been clear in insisting that all parties, state and non-state alike, have obligations under international humanitarian law that are binding. Israel has the right to self-defence but it must - absolutely must - be exercised in line with international humanitarian law. Hamas must immediately release without preconditions all hostages being held in Gaza. International humanitarian law is not optional; it is obligatory.

We have called for an urgent scaling up of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. We voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution and for the recent Arab resolution at UNESCO. Within the EU, we have advocated very strongly for agreement by the European Council to call for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach those so desperately in need. We are clear though, that this is not enough. We will continue to lead calls and advocate with like-minded EU member states for stronger and clearer common policies, reflecting the EU’s fundamental values, including our commitment to peace.

Beyond our calls for a ceasefire and for humanitarian access, we have also strongly condemned any acts which violate international humanitarian law. Parties to a conflict — all parties to all conflicts — must comply with international humanitarian law. The Government has clearly underlined that international humanitarian law, including the prohibition on the targeting of civilians; the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality; the prohibition on collective punishment; and the prohibition on the taking of hostages and their use as human shields, apply in all armed conflicts. We have called clearly on all actors to abide by their obligations in this regard.

It is clear to me and to all of us here tonight that we have not always seen this being applied over these last two months. It is therefore vital that any and all breaches of international humanitarian law in relation to the situation are currently investigated by an impartial and independent body. We must see objective and unbiased investigations take place. There is no substitute for this.

We also must see full accountability for any and all breaches of international humanitarian law. International humanitarian law exists for a reason. Its overarching aim is to protect civilians. That means all civilians in an armed conflict, no matter where that is.

As the Red Cross movement, the guardians of international humanitarian law, have said, in the law of armed conflict there is no hierarchy in pain or suffering. The Israeli and the Palestinian have equal rights to live in peace and security. We all must state this unambiguously. The rules of war exist to help preserve humanity in its darkest moments and they desperately need to be followed today. They are, and should remain, our compass to ensure that we put humanity first. The rules are very clear and they apply to all sides in conflicts everywhere, state and non-state actors alike.

The International Criminal Court is at the very heart of the international justice system. The court has a key role in promoting and upholding the rule of law and pursuing accountability for the most serious international crimes, including serious violations of international humanitarian law.

The Government today decided to make a voluntary contribution of €3 million to the International Criminal Court. This contribution is in response to the urgent needs of the court, which the court’s prosecutor has already repeatedly emphasised, most recently in his statement when he visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Ireland is a consistent and strong supporter of the court and of its independence and impartiality. Last year, we also announced an additional €3 million voluntary contribution on top of our annual contribution to the court, in order to meet its urgent funding needs, which were exacerbated by the situation in Ukraine. Some €1 million was disbursed to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to benefit the prosecutor’s work in all countries. The remaining €2 million has been disbursed to various other trust funds in the ICC that facilitate key tasks of the court, including €1.4 million to the trust fund for victims.

Karim Khan, prosecutor of the ICC, has confirmed unambiguously that the ICC has jurisdiction over the current situation we see unfolding. Deputies will have seen the Tánaiste’s statement over the weekend in which he outlined the current status of the ICC investigation. Palestine itself, as a state party to the ICC, referred the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory to the prosecutor under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. In March 2021, the prosecutor announced the opening of an investigation into the situation in Palestine, including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The investigation covers all crimes within the jurisdiction of the court, including war crimes and crimes against humanity alleged to have been committed since 2014. This gives the court jurisdiction over any crimes committed within Palestine, or by Palestinian nationals outside of it, including in Israel. Let me reiterate that the prosecutor, Karim Khan, has made absolutely clear on a number of occasions over the last month that this investigation covers the current conflict, including all events on and from 7 October this year. That sentence bears repeating. The prosecutor Karim Khan has made absolutely clear on a number of occasions over the last month that this investigation covers the current conflict, including all events on and from 7 October this year. As I said, he has confirmed unambiguously that an active investigation is currently ongoing. As such, I am surprised at the text of the motion proposed. The proposal that Ireland should take the step of referring the situation to the ICC prosecutor under Article 14, if followed, would simply repeat an action that has already been taken. It would not progress the ongoing investigation any further. It is not clear to me what the intention of this motion is, which demands that Ireland refer a situation to the court which has already been referred and that it investigate something which the prosecutor has confirmed he is already investigating. Let us be clear. Referring the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory to the ICC under Article 14 would serve no legal purpose, in our view. Indeed, it could also be viewed by some as an attempt to politicise the court-----

Deputy John Brady

Double standards.

Deputy Matt Carthy

By whom?

Deputy John Brady

Double standards.

Deputy Sean Fleming

-----and to pursue the prosecutor. This could be interpreted by some as putting pressure on the prosecutor to prioritise one investigation over another-----

Deputy John Brady

That is a cop-out.

Deputy Matt Carthy

Who would see it that way?

Deputy Sean Fleming

-----and, possibly, as undermining the independent and impartial nature of both the prosecutor and the court.

Deputy John Brady

Double standards. There is no issue with referring Russia but when it comes to Palestine or Israel, absolute double standards are at play. It is shameful.

Deputy Sean Fleming

That work is ongoing and he should be allowed to continue his work. Ireland’s foreign policy and our credibility internationally as a principled and consistent voice has long been based on our adherence to and respect for international law, including international humanitarian law. We take the rules-based international order and the multilateral bodies created by the international community seriously at all times. Making a referral to the ICC prosecutor that we do not believe adds anything to legal or practical terms, and which could be seen as undermining the court’s independence and impartiality, would potentially damage Ireland’s credibility and undermine the principles which underpin our foreign policy, not to mind possibly attempting to politicise the actual court.

As such, the Government is instead tabling a countermotion on the matter. The countermotion clearly expresses Ireland’s unwavering support for the vital work of the ICC and commits to continuing to support this, including through our annual assessed financial contribution of €1.4 million this year. Ireland will continue to be an advocate for the role of the ICC and urges all state parties to the Rome Statute to ensure the court has the resources it needs to fulfil its vital mandate, including regarding Palestine. I urge all Members to support this countermotion as a strong statement of Ireland’s position in support of the international rules-based order and bodies. We recognise the importance of the ongoing ICC investigation, and of the vital role of thorough and balanced accountability mechanisms in holding perpetrators to account for any violations of international humanitarian law.

Before I close, I take this opportunity to echo the calls made by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to happen now. The Government will continue to prioritise all avenues in support of a longer-term pathway away from violence and back towards a process of lasting peace.

Debate adjourned.