Ireland's Recognition of the State of Palestine: Statements

An Ceann Comhairle

Before moving to the important statements on Ireland's recognition of the State of Palestine I ask everyone to join me in extending a warm céad míle fáilte to someone who is familiar to all of us here - Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, ambassador of Palestine. She is very welcome.

As we proceed to take the debate, I will say a word or two of caution. We will understandably want to express our horror at what I think Deputy Cairns has correctly described as the depravity we have now seen taking place over several months in Palestine, and the events of 7 October 2023 in Israel. I need to make it clear that when we speak here, we clearly differentiate between Hamas and the Palestinian people, and clearly discriminate between the Government of Israel and the Jewish and Israeli people. We think, as we speak, particularly of the very small but treasured Jewish community we have in this country that we value and treasure, and that we do not want in any way to feel undermined by our justifiable criticism of the unthinkable acts of depravity we have seen happening.

The Taoiseach

Hear, hear.

An Ceann Comhairle

We need to bear all of that in mind. That said, I call the Taoiseach.

The Taoiseach

I first thank the Ceann Comhairle for his words of leadership in this matter, which I wholeheartedly endorse. Last Wednesday, with the Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, I announced that Ireland, alongside our partners in Spain and Norway, was recognising the State of Palestine.

Today, the Government gave formal effect to that decision, and now Ireland has formally recognised the State of Palestine. Colleagues in Madrid and Oslo have also taken the same step. This decision fulfils our commitment in the programme for Government to doing so when the time was right. We have said many times that our goal was to offer recognition as part of a process that could lead to peace on the basis of a two-state solution. As the House knows, unfortunately, three decades on from the Oslo process, we are perhaps further than ever from a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace settlement, one that can bring peace and security to the people of Palestine, the people of Israel and the people of the wider region. In these circumstances, it would not have been right to withhold our recognition when we were convinced it was the right thing to do. It was not unreasonable to ask, if not now, then when?

Today is an historic day but it takes place in the most sombre of circumstances as we witness an humanitarian catastrophe continuing to unfold in Gaza and Rafah. We see children starving, we see children going to bed not knowing whether they will wake up and we see that new despicable trend where every now and again, an event of particular horror takes place and the Israeli Prime Minister then apologises for the “tragic mistake". As I said, April’s tragic mistake was the bombing of aid workers providing food to starving Gazans. May’s tragic mistake was the bombing of displaced children, parents and families who had fled to a designated safe zone in truly apocalyptic scenes. What will June’s “tragic mistake” be and, more important, what are we all in this world going to do to stop it?

As I have consistently said, there is an onus on every country and on the European Union to use every lever at our disposal to bring about a ceasefire. It is no longer enough just to condemn or be repulsed. That is why I welcome the decision of the Belgian Presidency to convene a meeting on the EU-Israel association agreement. The human rights clauses in the agreement are and must be meaningful and when they are not being adhered to, that must have consequences. We need to look at all the levers at our disposal to bring about a cessation of violence before Netanyahu’s next tragic mistake. Formal recognition of the State of Palestine here today is an act of powerful political and symbolic value and I hope it sends the Palestinian people a message of hope that in this, their darkest hour, Ireland stands with them. It is an expression of our view that Palestine holds and should be able to vindicate the full rights of a state, including self-determination, self-governance, territorial integrity and security, as well as recognising Palestine’s own obligations under international law.

Generations of Palestinians have endured occupation, dehumanisation and humiliation. In today’s West Bank, an extreme form of Zionism fuels settler violence and the appropriation of land, illegal actions that largely go unchecked. In Gaza, since last October, we have seen tens of thousand die, many of them children, and many more suffering life-changing injuries. We have seen schools, hospitals, cultural institutions and religious buildings reduced to rubble, vital civilian infrastructure destroyed and millions turned onto the road, dislocated from place to place in search of safety. The very least we can do is let them know their suffering is not going unnoticed and that it will be acted on.

Last week, I said recognition is a message to those in Palestine who advocate and work for a future of peace and democracy that we fully respect their aspirations to be living freely in their own country, in control of their own affairs, under their own leadership. I said that, moving in lockstep with our European colleagues, we sought to be bearers of hope. We wanted to reaffirm our belief that peace is possible, that justice is achievable and that recognition of both states, Palestine and Israel, is the only cornerstone on which that peace must be built. We cannot have a two-state solution without two states. We have long recognised the State of Israel and its right to exist in peace and security within internationally agreed borders. Today we say we equally recognise the State of Palestine and its right to exist within internationally agreed borders. When I spoke to President Abbas last Wednesday, he thanked Ireland, Spain and Norway for our leadership in recognising the State of Palestine and praised our decision as a beacon of hope to the Palestinian people, but our historic decision is not just about hope and symbolism, notwithstanding their importance.

For me, recognition also serves three fundamental purposes. First, it is our view it is time Palestine took its place among the free nations of the world, that it could pursue self-determination, self-governance, fulfil its obligations and avail of its rights under the UN Charter, and that it might have territorial integrity and sovereignty. Second, it expresses our belief that Israelis and Palestinians alike have an equal right to self-determination, safety, security and dignity, and that no child, no matter his or her nation, is worth any less than another. Third, it cements our fundamental conviction that the only just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian generations-long conflict is a two-state solution. Ireland, Spain and Norway are not alone in recognising Palestine; three quarters of UN member states already do. The two-state solution is not a new idea; it has long been endorsed by the vast majority of nations, including through several UN Security Council resolutions. Palestine has long been seeking to take its rightful place among the free nations of the world and has already joined international organisations such as UNESCO and the International Criminal Court. The free countries of the world agree, and 143 of them voted earlier this month in the General Assembly for full UN membership for Palestine.

The ever-increasing number of illegal settlements and displacements of Palestinians has left the viability of a Palestinian state hanging by a thread. If countries do not now take this formal step now to recognise Palestine, I fear there may not be an opportunity in the future. Now is the time to act. The 1967 borders have slowly been eaten away, and this cannot continue. Recognition says to young Palestinian people growing up in Gaza and the West Bank, or in refugee camps around the region, that there is a viable political path to achieve their dream of a Palestinian state, and that there are people of goodwill in Ireland and elsewhere who will stand with them and work with them shoulder to shoulder to get there. We want to encourage and reward those who want to walk the political path, however difficult the journey. We on this island know how vital that support can be.

The current Government of Israel, the most right-wing in its history, has said it will never accept a Palestinian state. The Israeli Government has been strongly critical of our decision. It has wrongly sought to portray it as a reward for terrorism and a boost for Hamas. This could not be further from the truth. We have been clear, time and again, that we utterly reject Hamas and all it stands for. As I said last week, Hamas can bring nothing but pain and suffering to the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. I am disappointed by how Israel has decided to conduct its interactions with the ambassadors of Ireland, Norway and Spain following our decision. Mutual diplomatic respect is something we should always aim to uphold. I want, on the record of the Dáil, to praise the ambassador, Sonya McGuinness, and her colleagues for the dignity and professionalism with which they conducted themselves and to thank her for the way in which she conducted herself in representing the views of Ireland and the Irish people. Lines of communications must be kept open if we are to be able to explain and understand decisions. That is why I welcomed the recent opportunity to speak directly to President Herzog.

Pursuing a peace based on shared fundamental values, as enshrined in the UN Charter, is the ultimate way in which we will defeat Hamas, evil terrorist ideology and those that share their way of thinking. Let me be crystal clear once again: Ireland unreservedly condemns the despicable actions of Hamas on 7 October. We cannot begin to understand the immense pain and suffering of those held hostage and the families who desperately wish to see them returned to their loving arms but recognising Palestine does no harm to Israel. We wish nothing for the people of Israel but security, peace and friendship and that is what we wish for the people of Palestine too. We are obliged to speak up when we think others are taking the wrong path. We have long called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and urgent and unhindered access to Gaza for humanitarian aid. On Friday, the International Court of Justice said Israel must immediately halt its military offensive in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. The situation could not be more grave. The stakes could not be any higher. The ICJ’s orders are legally binding. Israel must immediately comply.

We are not naive. We know recognition of Palestine alone will not resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine, but it can make a real and meaningful contribution. We must be on the right side of history.

It is a single step in a long and difficult path, a path Ireland is ready to walk with the people of Palestine, towards a future where there are two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security together.

We want to see Israel and Palestine both take their rightful place on the world stage as equals. We want Israelis and Palestinians to know that there can be an end to this conflict, that peace is possible. We know that most Israeli people and Palestinian people want their children to be able to live in peace and security. For all of this to happen, the fighting, the killing and the barbaric actions need to stop.

I wish to conclude be reiterating my statement from last week to the people of Palestine in the West Bank, in Gaza, in refugee camps, in Ireland, those who have joined us in the Dáil today, and around the world. We here in Ireland see you, we recognise you, we respect you and today, Ireland formally recognises the State of Palestine.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Micheál Martin)

A Cheann Comhairle, ar maidin rinne an Rialtas cinneadh foirmiúil aitheantas a bhronnadh ar Stát na Palaistíne. Is cinneadh stairiúil agus tábhachtach é seo agus is ar son cás na síochána a rinneamar an cinneadh. Is ceart agus is cóir é a dhéanamh.

This morning, Ireland formally recognised the State of Palestine. It is an occasion of deep significance, not only to Deputies in this House but to the people of Ireland and the people of Palestine. Much thought, analysis and diplomatic effort has informed the timing and context of this decision. Let me first emphasise that some considerations have never been in any doubt, namely, our commitment to international law and to the full implementation of a two state-solution as outlined in multiple UN Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions; our desire to see the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination vindicated; our dream that this and future generations of Palestinian people will enjoy a peaceful and secure existence, living side by side in peace with their Israeli neighbours; our commitment to supporting Palestinian state building and the development of Palestinian institutions, throughout our development co-operation programme; and the deep ties between the Irish and Palestinian people at every level and in every sector of our society.

In this spirit, I know that recognising the State of Palestine has been heard by the Palestinian people as a clear expression of solidarity. I want to join with colleagues in welcoming the Palestinian head of mission and soon to be full ambassador, Dr. Jilan Abdalmajid, to the House. I know that this is a special day for her and I want to pay tribute to her work on behalf of the Palestinian people.

Many Palestinians have told me that Ireland’s decision has provided hope at what is a very dark time in Palestine - most obviously in Gaza, but also in the West Bank. It is my firm belief that in recognising the State of Palestine at this time, the Government has also maximised the impact that this step can make to translate our hopes and aspirations into reality. I will return to the issue of recognition in more detail shortly. Before doing so it is important to reflect upon the shocking reality in Palestine.

Earlier this month, following weeks of warnings the World Food Programme indicated that northern Gaza is now experiencing famine. Just over a week ago, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court applied for arrest warrants for leaders of Hamas, as well as for the Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli defence minister. Last Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to "immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part". The court characterised recent developments, in particular Israel’s offensive in Rafah, as “exceptionally grave”. It ordered the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid and the facilitation of access by UN investigative bodies.

And yet, we see the horror of the air strikes on Rafah on Sunday, killing dozens of innocent civilians - babies and children - sheltering in a camp for displaced people. We see an entire population in Gaza, 90% of whom have been displaced at least once, and many multiple times, that is acutely food insecure and unable to access healthcare, education or the most basic of social services. We see rockets continuing to be launched by Hamas towards Israel, indiscriminately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, emphasising again that organisation’s utterly malign intentions and role. Seven months on from the savagery of 7 October, the unimaginable ordeal of Israeli hostages and their families continues. I again restate my utter and unequivocal condemnation of what Hamas did that day.

During my visit to the region in April, I saw first-hand the obstacles and restrictions facing aid entering into Gaza via Rafah. I also discussed humanitarian access in detail with my Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts. The challenges they outlined have been compounded further since then by the Israeli offensive in Rafah, and Hamas rocket attacks, which have disrupted the flow of aid at both the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossing points; by repugnant attacks by on aid trucks from Jordan as they drive through Israel without effective action by the Israeli police; and by the continued lack of a proper deconfliction system inside Gaza.

Universally, partners have urged Israel not to proceed with its offensive in Rafah and to ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza. Israel has chosen to disregard these calls but it cannot choose to disregard the orders from the International Court of Justice. These are legally binding. They must be complied with.

We discussed all of this at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels yesterday, following an excellent and informative meeting between European Union and Arab foreign ministers. We agreed to convene an urgent meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council in the context of our grave concerns in respect of Israel’s adherence to the human rights clauses in the EU-Israel association agreement, and particularly in the context of the ICJ provisional orders.

It is no secret that Ireland has been pushing the European Union to act more decisively and at an earlier stage. We will continue to do so but I am encouraged that we are now beginning to see a clear view emerging among member states that it is simply not credible that the EU-Israel association agreement can remain entirely unaffected by the behaviour of this Israeli Government.

As this House is aware, the Government has had a long-standing commitment to recognise the State of Palestine. We committed to doing so as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, if doing so would progress efforts to reach a two-state solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory. The Government set out its reasoning for doing so at this moment in time when it announced this step alongside Norway and Spain last week. I believe it is also important that these reasons are also put on the record of this House.

Our recognition of the State of Palestine has three fundamental purposes. First, it makes clear our view that it is time Palestine takes its full place among the nations of the world and that its right to self-determination, self-governance and territorial integrity and sovereignty must now be vindicated. As the UN General Assembly agreed earlier this month, Palestine is ready to take on all the rights and obligations of a state under the UN Charter. Second, it is an expression of our belief in the equal right to self-determination, peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The aspirations of both peoples must be afforded equal legitimacy based on a two-state solution that delivers a just and sustainable peace. Third, it is a reiteration of our fundamental conviction that the only just and sustainable peaceful solution, for both Palestinians and Israelis, is the implementation of that two-state solution ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and resulting in a viable, contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem based on the 1967 borders.

The policies and actions of successive Israeli Governments — in particular the current Government — have seriously undermined the prospects of a two-state solution and the viability of a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly rejected even the concept of a Palestinian state. The urgency of protecting the integrity of Palestinian territory has reached a point that our efforts to do so through the legal and policy avenues we have used to date were no longer sufficient. In particular, this is the result of the sustained Israeli assault on Gaza, specifically on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure, as well as the denial of sufficient humanitarian aid over a sustained period.

There has also been a significant increase in violence, displacement and annexation in the West Bank. In parallel, there have been renewed international efforts, in particular by Arab partners, to develop a clear pathway to implement a two-state solution, not just to talk about or repeat our commitment to it but to implement it. I and my officials have spent the past few months in constant contact with partners in the region, in particular Egypt and Jordan, as they have developed an Arab peace vision. This document prioritises concrete steps to end the brutal war in Gaza and the taking of concrete and irreversible steps to build a Palestinian state. The Arab peace vision recognises that any final settlement will of course need direct negotiations between the parties; we all agree on that. Importantly, it starts from the premise that no one - not this Israeli Government or any government - can have a veto on the building of a Palestinian state. Israel does not get a veto on whether Palestine exists.

I have spent the past few days in Brussels, undertaking intensive discussions with partners. On Sunday, I attended a meeting convened by Norway and Saudi Arabia, bringing together more than 40 partners from across Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere, with a focus on tangible steps towards implementing the two-state solution. Arab partners set out the core principles underlying the Arab peace vision. The new Palestinian Prime Minister spoke about the dire resourcing situation that the Palestinian Authority faces and the need for early and comprehensive support for its service delivery and reform efforts. Six of the Arab foreign ministers then attended the Foreign Affairs Council yesterday and presented their thinking in more detail. The EU unanimously agreed to work with the Arab contact group on its peace vision, add our ideas about how it can be implemented and suggest practical steps that European countries can take to be part of that process.

It is notable that the very first ask that the Arab peace vision has of European states, and the top priority for our Arab partners, is that all European countries recognise Palestine. As many Members know, this is the political framework within which Ireland, along with Spain, Norway and others, have been discussing the issue of recognition over the past few months. It has long been my view that recognising Palestine would be most impactful if done in a co-ordinated manner with other partners. That we have taken the decision to recognise the State of Palestine together with Norway and Spain, and in the wider context of a regional peace initiative, is important. I am confident that there is a growing consensus among like-minded partners that Palestinian statehood can no longer wait until the end of a process of final settlement negotiations between the parties. I anticipate that other European partners may decide to recognise Palestine in the coming weeks and months.

The challenge now is to maintain this momentum. We need a fundamental paradigm shift in the way all of us in the international community view the solution to this conflict. We need urgency and concrete steps. We have said many times that an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access are essential. That remains essential and we will not rest until that is achieved. Simultaneously, it is urgent that we support the Palestinian Authority. I spoke in some detail to the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mustafa, in Brussels on Sunday night. He highlighted a number of immediate priorities, which I brought to the Foreign Affairs Council yesterday.

I asked that the EU increase pressure on Israel to release the tax revenues it is withholding from the Palestinian Authority and also that the EU Commission release pending funds immediately, as well as put in place an ambitious and comprehensive package of support for 2024 and beyond. I asked the EU high representative to invite Prime Minister Mustafa to present his reform programme in detail to the June Foreign Affairs Council. I was impressed with Prime Minister Mustafa, his team and some of his ministers, whom I met. It is unforgivable and unconscionable that Israel would withhold Palestinian revenues from this technocratic government, something which is impairing its capacity to hit the ground running and try to deliver services to the people of the West Bank and Gaza. Our bilateral development co-operation programme with Palestine will, of course, continue and intensify, alongside our humanitarian support for the immediate basic needs for the population in Gaza.

We also need to move quickly to get the former EU border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing operational again. The EU can play a constructive role in maintaining the vital lifeline for goods and people between Egypt and Gaza open. With Spain, Norway and Arab partners, we will also continue to build momentum behind the Arab peace vision. We will encourage others to recognise the State of Palestine, and we will work to build support for a comprehensive effort to bring an end to this conflict. We will continue to push in New York for full UN membership for Palestine and we will continue to hold this Israeli Government accountable.

We have committed to intervene in the South Africa versus Israel case under the genocide convention at the ICJ. As we work on our intervention, our most immediate focus will be ensuring compliance by Israel with the provisional orders issued last week. Getting agreement at EU level to convene a meeting of the EU-Israel association agreement in this context is an important step in doing so. We will step up our support for the vital work of the ICC, even as the prosecutor and his staff are threatened with sanctions. We must uphold robustly the independence of these international legal courts and fora.

I will briefly address the Israeli reaction to the decision taken by Ireland, Spain and Norway. In our private engagement with Israel, as well as in our public communication, we have been clear in setting out the thinking and motivation behind our decision to recognise Palestine. We support the right of the State of Palestine to exist and the right of the Palestinian people to peaceful self-determination just as we, without question, support the right of the State of Israel to exist and the right of the Israeli people to peaceful self-determination. We understand that this Israeli Government disagrees with our decision. That is its right, as it is its right to inform us of their view, forthrightly and robustly, through diplomatic channels. We have no problem with that.

However, the time and manner in which this was done was unacceptable. I have made clear that the treatment of our ambassador in Tel Aviv, and that of her Spanish and Norwegian counterparts, fell far short of what we would expect from any country, irrespective of our political differences. I want to pay tribute to Sonya McGuinness for her resilience and outstanding performance as our ambassador in Israel during a very challenging time. For my part, I have and will continue to treat Israel’s ambassador to Ireland with courtesy and respect. I expect the same in return.

We wish to maintain functional diplomatic engagement and dialogue with Israel. Diplomacy comes into its own at times of intense disagreement between states. Imposing limitations on the Ireland-Israel diplomatic relationship would make no sense, and we do not intend to do so. In my view, it would be a self-defeating mistake were the Israeli Government to decide to do so. I also want to emphasise in the House today what I stated clearly last week. Israeli and Palestinian citizens alike are a valued and cherished part of our society here in Ireland and I challenge and reject anyone who would seek to delegitimise either’s history, culture, or beliefs. I also unambiguously reject those in Palestine, Israel and around the world who call for the entirety of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan to be a mono-ethnic state, based either on forcible exile or subjugation. These are messages that I wish to convey clearly to the Israeli and Jewish communities here in Ireland, and I will do so personally in the very near future.

There is much work ahead, and that will be done through multilateral and bilateral engagement, continued advocacy and diplomacy and building and reinforcing our friendship with the Israeli and Palestinian people alike. The Government’s commitment will remain unwavering, grounded in the resolute belief that we can, together, realise the aim that is overwhelmingly endorsed by the international community; namely, a two-state solution based on 1967 borders, with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable State of Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both states.

This may sound like an impossible aspiration but there is no other just and sustainable option. We refuse to accept that the only future for Palestinians is one of dispossession, occupation, displacement and brutality. We refuse to believe that the only future for the Israeli and Palestinian people is a future of hatred, conflict, and death. We cannot and will not accept that.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (Deputy Eamon Ryan)

I was very proud that the Green Party argued passionately for the recognition of Palestine in the programme for Government we agreed with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in 2020. Events have moved on since then, tragically so, but the case for recognising the Palestine was as strong back then as it is now. It was not a question of if, but of when and to what effect. Today we deliver on that commitment as a Government and as a Parliament. The timing is important and right. First, we do not do so alone. Not only are we joined by our Spanish and Norwegian colleagues, but this also comes after the vote in the United Nations on 10 May last, when 143 countries voted in favour of Palestine being recognised within the UN system. Second, as the Tánaiste has just said, the timing is important because central to the Arab peace plan presented at the European Council yesterday is the issue of recognition and the benefit and momentum it can bring to delivering an immediate ceasefire. Third is the need for that ceasefire and the fact that we cannot stay silent, either on the release of hostages or on what we saw the day before yesterday with the bombing of a refugee camp in Rafah, similar to what has happened right through the past seven months. Critically, the timing of this recognition comes against the backdrop of an application from the International Criminal Court for an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister for the actions that are taking place and the International Court of Justice's call, similar to ours, for an immediate end to the assault on Gaza.

Today we recognise the State of Palestine and this has a particular resonance for Irish people, given the echoes from our own history. It is the right and proper thing to do. The concept of nationhood can be fraught. Populations can move and intersperse with others, borders can shift back and forth with time and ethnicity is as inexact a concept as it is an emotive one. There can be little doubt that the Palestinian people have an undeniable argument for nationhood. Denying or hindering such an obvious claim is as morally wrong as it is unwise. It stores up grievances that future generations will ultimately have to deal with. Some of the responses from the ordinary Palestinian people we have heard from since we announced our intention have been very moving. The need to secure a ceasefire and get humanitarian aid into Gaza remains, without doubt, the most pressing challenge facing the people of Palestine but it has been heartening to hear that the decision of Ireland, Spain and Norway has offered some solace to those who may have despaired that the international community has forgotten their plight. It is not merely to offer a sense of solidarity that we take this step. We recognise Palestine today because we recognise that peace cannot be achieved without doing so. Mr. Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy put it well last November when he said: "Our political myopia, to think this conflict was manageable by paying lip service to the two-state solution and then leaving it to fester, must end." He was right. We in the west averted our gaze and were content to let the situation fester as long as an uneasy peace continued and did not intrude upon our lives. We have learned the hard way that this tactic was not just morally wrong but strategically foolish. We are unequivocal. Nothing can justify the barbaric slaughter Hamas carried out on 7 October but neither can any of us stand here and say that we never suspected that the powder keg that was Gaza would not explode, with such devastating consequences.

Ireland's recognition of Palestine may present a challenge for Jewish people in Israel and across the world. I ask our Jewish friends, with real respect, to look to our experience here on this island where the long-term denial of one community's rights in favour of another's led to similar misery and devastation. Such an injustice can be maintained for decades or even longer but a people's right to exist cannot be suppressed forever. Let me also reiterate to Israel that the Irish people recognise its right to exist as a nation and recognising Palestine does not, in any way, diminish Israel's rights as a state. In fact, it does the opposite. Our dearest wish is that the establishment of a Palestinian state solidifies the existence of Israel and allows it to prosper and flourish in peace and harmony with its neighbours. I particularly want to offer reassurance to Jewish friends living in Ireland. The past seven months have not been easy and many may feel that there is a change in attitude towards them or people of their religion. We need to assure them that they are welcome here. They belong here and are as Irish as all of us. They are respected and important citizens of our State. Long may Ireland be a home to Jewish people so they can continue their outstanding contribution to our nation in art, science, business and politics. This House has benefited so much from people from our Jewish community. I share their frustration at the one-sided approach that some people take to the conflict. Some appear to think that the Israel's Government's appalling actions mean they can be silent on Hamas's atrocities but I do not. This is not a matter of taking sides. The atrocities committed against innocent Israelis on 7 October were vile, as is the slaughter that the Israeli Defense Forces have unleashed upon innocent Palestinians after it. Both are wrong and we are vociferous in condemning both.

As I said outside Government Buildings when we made our announcement last Wednesday, we have learned the hard way in Ireland that using violence against innocent civilians to try to achieve political goals cannot and must never win, whether that is a car bomb on the streets of Omagh or Jerusalem, a rocket landing in Tel Aviv or a no-warning bomb blast in Birmingham, an assault on a Kibbutz or a bomb dropped from a jet fighter onto a refugee camp in Gaza. It is all wrong. There is no hierarchy in death.

I would like to conclude by responding to criticism levelled at us by the Israeli Government that by recognising Palestine we are somehow emboldening the terrorists of Hamas and that this decision will only lead us further down the path of violence. Again, valuable lessons can be taken from the Irish experience. There was a time, after all, when similar warnings were made by the British establishment. It is a long time ago now, but it was said that the Irish were not fit to govern themselves and that anarchy would surely follow if we were given the chance. The path to Irish statehood was not smooth but over a century on from those dire warnings, the nation that we represent in this Chamber stands up for the rights of the United Nations and the rights of individual nations. It stands up to try to help build peace in our very troubled, conflict-ridden world. If allowed to, and with support from around the world, I pray that Palestine could, in time, follow a similar path to our own. There will no doubt be missteps, just as we have made, and setbacks but the only path forward involves recognising that Palestine has an unalienable right to take its place in the international community. What the people of Palestine ask of us is not outrageous or extravagant. If anything, it is modest. According to the Palestinian-American academic, Edward Said, it is no more than any of us would ask for ourselves: "The long-run goal is...the same for every human being, that politically he or she may be allowed to live free from fear, insecurity, terror, and oppression, free also from the possibility of exercising unequal or unjust domination over others."

Today we recognise Palestine as a state and we commit to working with our European colleagues, in government and across this House, to do everything we can to support an immediate cessation of the assault in Gaza and the day after that ceasefire, to help to deliver a two-state solution, which is the only path to peace.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

We teach life, sir.

We Palestinians teach life after they have occupied the last sky.

We teach life after they have built their settlements and apartheid walls, after the last skies.

[...]

We Palestinians wake up every morning to teach the rest of the world life, sir.

These are the words of Palestinian poet, Rafeef Ziadah. They are words that powerfully capture the cry of Palestine to the world, a cry that has reverberated for generations. See us, hear us, stand with us, vindicate our nation and our people, recognise us. Today, the Irish Government at last responded to that cry for justice and Ireland became one of the first western European countries to recognise the State of Palestine. The people of Ireland have always stood with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, self-determination, human dignity and peace, conscious of our own history of colonisation, oppression, dispossession, famine and partition. It is a history that has ingrained in the collective consciousness the impetus to confront injustice, inequality and human rights abuses across the world. Today we say again to the Palestinian people: You are not alone. Ireland recognises you, your people and your right to nationhood. We stand on the side of justice, freedom and a just, durable and lasting peace.

Ireland's recognition of the Palestinian state comes as the people of Gaza endure the darkest of moments, as they continue to endure horror on an unimaginable scale, as world leaders continue to draw a false equivalence between the impoverished occupied and the oppressive occupier. By recognising the State of Palestine, we recognise the right of Palestinians to their homeland and to a future free of oppression and war. We recognise the human rights of the Palestinian people, their right to exist as equals in this world. Today's announcement has been a long time coming, too long. Ten years ago, the Dáil voted unanimously in favour of a Sinn Féin motion to recognise the State of Palestine. A decade ago we had cross-party support for this. It should not have taken this long to get here but, of course, it is never too late to do the right thing and this is the right and just thing.

I welcome and acknowledge the incredible work of the current Palestinian ambassador and that of all her predecessors. Long before I was ever elected to the Dáil, I stood with many others outside the gates of Leinster House, calling on, imploring the Government and the European Union to deliver justice for Palestine and its people. Activists have been constant in their commitment to Palestine, relentlessly pushing, standing their ground, standing up for what is right, never giving up and slowly and surely changing the conversation. I, therefore, pay special tribute to activists the length and breadth of this country and beyond who for decades have marched, protested and rallied in solidarity with Palestine and whose steadfast effort has brought us to this day.

Deputy Matt Carthy

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

The Palestinian struggle has gone on for generations. The catastrophe of the Nakba was only the start. For 76 years, the story of Palestine has been one of colonisation; occupation; apartheid; violent and brutal human rights atrocities at the hands of the Israeli state and its ferocious military; daily oppression that sees Palestinians killed, jailed, tortured and forced from their lands; homes, schools and health facilities bulldozed to the ground as illegal settlers violently overtake Palestinian lands and villages in direct violation of international law. Palestine is a nation threatened by annihilation. The world was always going to face a moment of reckoning on Palestine. As Israel continues its brutal onslaught on the refugee population of Gaza and launches horrific missile attacks on Rafah, the moment of reckoning is now.

Rafah is the place where hundreds of thousands of Gazans were forcefully displaced in the wake of Israel’s initial bombardment. There is nowhere left for them to flee to, nowhere left to go. They are trapped. On Sunday, as Israel bombed a refugee tent camp and took countless lives, it described it as a "tragic mistake". Today, it was reported that seven more lives have been taken by Israeli air strikes in Rafah and there will be more slaughter unless Israel is confronted by the world. The life of a Palestinian child is worth the same as that of a child anywhere else in the world but where is the protection of international law for every child killed in Gaza, for every child who will be killed in Rafah? We have all seen the images of heartbroken Palestinian mothers inconsolably weeping over their dead children, their entire world collapsed forever into tiny white sheets; fathers desperately digging their children out of rubble, knowing that they have breathed their last; little boys and little girls, horrifically injured, covered in debris being rushed into hospitals already overwhelmed with the maimed and the dying. This is a criminal war on the young. Half of Gaza’s population is under the age of 18. If you are a child of 11 years in Gaza, you have already endured four Israeli military bombardments. For eight months, Netanyahu has conducted a war on children and the world has looked the other way.

This annihilation is the cruel crescendo of 76 years of occupation and apartheid. Since October, almost 36,000 Palestinians have been killed including 15,000 children. This is not a moment of an intense disagreement between states. Rather this is a moment of catastrophe and savagery, of an Israel that has brazenly and repeatedly broken every international law and acted with impunity and as of yet has not been held to account. For this to stop, the international community has to act. The European Union, Britain and the United States of America must remove political support and end preferential treatment for Israel as it perpetrates crimes against Palestinians with impunity. They must stop funding and arming the Israeli military machine as it commits genocide in Palestine.

The ordinary people of Europe do not want a European Commission that shamefully endorses Israel’s actions. I am conscious that we will have a new European Parliament and a new Commission. I do not believe a European Commission or its President can condone the actions of Israel.

Deputy Matt Carthy

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Rather, they must confront them. Ireland and all of us must insist on that point. Today, along with Spain and Norway, we are taking a lead, but recognition of the Palestinian state cannot be the end. It has to be just a beginning, a new departure in pursuing freedom and justice for the Palestinians. The Irish Government must now follow recognition by enacting the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 - Senator Frances Black has joined us in the Chamber - and the Illegal Israeli Settlement Divestment Bill 2023, brought forward by my colleague, Deputy Brady. Ireland must also take the lead in the European Union by pushing for sanctions against Israel and in holding Israel to account by joining the International Court of Justice, ICJ, genocide case. Israel, for now, turns its face not only against peace but against the rule of international law and, therefore, a movement against apartheid in Palestine, with the same momentum and drive as the movement against South African apartheid, is essential.

It is vital to secure the enforcement of international law. We need, of course, an immediate ceasefire. We need the return of all hostages and the renewal of a peace process grounded in international law. This is the only way the children of Palestine and Israel can have the future of peace they deserve.

Young people in particular have stepped forward, standing for the cause of Palestinian freedom. They have marched in cities and towns throughout Ireland and the world, calling for an end to the slaughter and an immediate ceasefire. On college campuses throughout the world, they have stood together against Israeli war crimes. World leaders must now listen to the voices of the young because this generation is right.

Our recognition of the Palestinian state is an important moment but the real power of today will only be defined by what happens next. This must be Ireland’s first step in pushing for an end to Israeli occupation and apartheid, and an end to its human rights violations, because Palestinians wake up every day not knowing if it will be their last. Palestinians wake up every day to teach the rest of the world life. They cry out for freedom, justice and human dignity. They cry out for life and Ireland and the world must see that they have it.

Deputy Matt Carthy

I welcome the Palestinian ambassador, members of the Palestinian community and long-standing campaigners for justice in Palestine to the Dáil for statements to mark an historic moment for both Ireland and Palestine.

The decision to officially recognise the State of Palestine fulfils a Dáil mandate that is now almost a decade old. It was in December 2014 that the Members of this House adopted the Sinn Féin motion that called on the then Government to take this step. Better later than never, of course. When the then Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams proposed that motion, it was in the aftermath of the 2014 bombardment of Gaza that had resulted in the killing of 2,251 Palestinians, including more than 500 children. Better later than never.

What we have had since is yet another lost decade when the world turned a blind eye to the ongoing relentless violation of international laws perpetrated against the people of Palestine by Israel. During the 2014 bombardment the world watched as four little boys playing football on a beach in Gaza were deliberately targeted and bombed by the IDF. The world did nothing. Irish Governments, often saying the right thing, did nothing. It was the same in 2015 when Amnesty International documented 20 cases of unlawful killings of Palestinians and in October that year, when 17-year-old Dania Jihad Hussein Ershied, with her arms raised and pleading for mercy, was shot at least six times by Israeli forces in Hebron. Strong words sometimes; no action ever.

In 2016, when the world watched settlement expansion in the West Bank and the impact of the brutal blockade in Gaza was reported by human rights organisations, the world stayed mute. A new Irish Government failed to enact the Dáil decision to recognise the State of Palestine. “It is not the right time”, we were told. Better later than never.

In 2017, when four Palestinian human rights groups submitted a report to the International Criminal Court outlining that high-level Israeli officials were complicit in committing war crimes against the people of Palestine, again world leaders stayed silent. They described Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East. Some, including Irish Ministers, called for restraint in settlement expansion but as the occupation continued and the blockade intensified, Israel faced not a single consequence. In their attempt to draw international attention to the impact of the blockade throughout 2018 and 2019, Palestinians in Gaza engaged in what they called the great march of return. They were doing what we across the western world told them was the effective way to highlight their cause – they were engaged in peaceful, non-violent protest. Israel responded by murdering 223 of them, including little 11-year-old Yaser Abu al-Naja from Khan Younis who was shot dead as he hid with two friends behind a bin. His crime was chanting a Palestinian slogan at the cowards who describe themselves as the most moral army in the world. It still was not the right time to recognise that Yaser’s state existed.

In 2020, when Israel was continuing to benefit from the most preferential trading, economic and diplomatic relationships with the western world, international leaders ignored the appeals of UN human rights experts when they called for an independent investigation into 15-year-old Ali Ayman Abu Aliya who had become the sixth Palestinian child to be killed by Israel that year. On and on it went. The Gaza bombardment of 2021 left 254 dead, including 67 children, and there were regular brutal attacks on refugee camps, including the 2022 attack on Jenin camp and the accompanying targeted sniper assassination of the journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, by an IDF sniper.

Throughout the decade since this House called for the recognition of Palestine, there have been two constants, Israel’s disregard for international law and the lives of Palestinians and the refusal of world leaders to hold them accountable for their war crimes. I am immensely proud that this day has come. I am proud but not of any politician. I am proud of the people in the Gallery who forced it to happen. I am proud of the hundreds of thousands of Irish people who marched, who campaign and who have refused to allow us to turn the other way. I am proud of those Palestinians who have shared their story with the people of Ireland. We in turn have taken them to our hearts. I regret the last lost decade when Ireland said the right things but failed to do the things that needed to be done. Better later than never. It was world inaction that brought us to where we are. The horrendous attacks by Hamas against innocent Israelis on 7 October have rightfully been condemned over and over again but history did not start on 7 October 2023 and the war crimes of that day provide no justification for the war crimes committed by Israel every day since.

As we today declare that Ireland recognises the State of Palestine, we do so against a backdrop of over 36,000 Palestinians having been killed by Israel in Gaza, including more than 15,000 children, in just seven months. Let us declare as well today that there will be no more lost decades, years and opportunities. Israel has been conducting a genocide because history tells it it can do so with impunity. Some states like Ireland have been saying the right thing but not doing the necessary things. Other powerful states have been complicit in every illegal action conducted under the Israeli flag.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has now sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu. The International Court of Justice now considers a charge of genocide and has ordered Israel to cease its attacks on Rafah. Ireland, Norway and Spain officially recognise the State of Palestine. All better later than never. Today is not an end, however; it is just a beginning. It is a beginning of an international chorus that demands an end to the savagery of Israel against the women, men and children of Palestine, an end to the occupation, the apartheid, the oppression and the bombings. If we say that Palestine has a right to a state, then we must take action against those who are determined to destroy that objective. If we say that international law matters, then we cannot trade with a state which breaches it every single day. If we say that the lives of Palestinian children have worth, then we cannot engage in diplomatic niceties with the state that is murdering them. We know that action is better taken later than never but we also know that at some stage there will be no later. This is the last chance. If there is to be a free, sovereign Palestine, we must act now. There must be no more wasted decades, lost opportunities or excuses. Now is the right time. Stop the preferential treatment for Israel. Stop arming Israel. Stop the economic supports for Israel. Stop the war. Stop the genocide. Unfortunately, it is too late for far too many Palestinians but it is better later than never. Today is an historic day but it is just a beginning.

Deputy Chris Andrews

I welcome the Palestinian ambassador who is with us. Today is an important day for Ireland in recognising the State of Palestine. It is the right thing to do.

Ireland's formal recognition of the State of Palestine firmly reflects the support for and solidarity with Palestine among the people of Ireland. I acknowledge the presence of members of an Irish support for Palestine group in the Gallery and all the work they do.

Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, have stood up against the shameful inaction from the EU. For years, we have witnessed the inaction and silence from the EU towards apartheid Israel. There have been increased EU trade deals with Israel, while Israel unleashed a brutal system of apartheid on the people of Palestine. Ten years after the Dáil voted in favour of a Sinn Féin motion calling for Ireland to officially recognise the State of Palestine, it is shameful that it has taken the murder of 36,000 Palestinians by Israel in the current phase of slaughter before we recognised Palestinian statehood.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

Hear, hear.

Deputy Chris Andrews

Today is welcome and important. It is important that politics is seen to work. If politics does not work, militarism flourishes. We need to show Palestine that politics works because, to date, politics has failed Palestinians. We must ensure that the Government’s solidarity with the State of Palestine does not stall for another ten years while thousands more die at the hands of the Israelis. We must see meaningful actions taken to sanction apartheid Israel. We need to enact Senator Black’s occupied territories Bill and the Sinn Féin Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023. Both Bills have the potential to have an immense impact on apartheid Israel. It is vital that we see them enacted as a matter of urgency.

While today is an historic day, our eyes must be on Rafah right now. We must ensure we do all we can to halt the genocide being inflicted on those who are seeking shelter and safety in Rafah.

Deputy Mark Ward

I also welcome the Palestinian ambassador, the campaigners in the Gallery and those outside Leinster House today. I am proud to be able to speak on this historic day as Ireland finally recognises the State of Palestine. It has been ten years since the Dáil unanimously supported a Sinn Féin motion calling for Ireland to recognise Palestine. It should not have taken ten years, but it did.

Not for the first time, the Irish people are ahead of the Irish Government. The Irish people have always recognised Palestine. For decades, the people of Ireland have wholeheartedly stood side by side with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and justice, a struggle that we Irish know only too well. Ireland and Palestine have a shared history of struggle against partition and oppression. Today, Leinster House joins thousands of ordinary houses across Ireland who have flown the Palestinian flag for decades.

While recognition is historic, it must not be the end. Words without sanctions are futile. The Government must now take steps to support the Palestinian people to secure a viable and free Palestine. We must sanction Israel for its ongoing gross violations of international law. Ireland must enact the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill and the occupied territories Bill. It must join the International Court of Justice case against Israel and increase funding to UNRWA. Israel must be held to account and face sanctions. There must be no more excuses.

Ireland must use its position to persuade and pressurise the European Union to act. The EU has failed to take any meaningful action against Israel. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has provided cover for Israeli war crimes. What we are witnessing right now in Gaza is ethnic cleansing. This is a war crime. It is genocide.

This week, Palestinian people who moved to a so-called “safe zone” in Rafah were bombed out of existence. Children were burned alive as they slept. It is beyond words. The people of Gaza have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Imagine the torture of knowing that each moment could be your last, as the bombs rain down. If they survive the bombs, they wait to face starvation and famine. This famine is man-made. The Israeli blockade must be lifted right now, a ceasefire must happen right now and America must stop supplying Israel with arms.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

I congratulate the Government on taking this decision. It is of some historic significance and I know the Government will have come under pressure not to do so. Ireland once sought international recognition and so we are proud today to stand with Palestine to help it take its place among the nations of the world. I commend the Tánaiste, in particular, on the manner in which he has represented the views of the Irish people in recent months. We do not have to agree on every point to appreciate the sincerity with which he has approached this issue. However, the recognition of the State of Palestine is not enough. It will not save lives in itself. I found it particularly poignant to hear the voice of a little Palestinian child in the Gallery earlier. The Palestinian people need an immediate and permanent ceasefire. The hostages must be released. The man-made famine and medical disaster for injured civilians can be stemmed if Israel stops blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza. The EU can and must act by suspending the trade agreement with Israel. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, with 32% of Israel's imports coming from the EU. The Government can send a further message of solidarity by passing the occupied territories Bill to ban any goods and services produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The reality is that there is one man with unparalleled influence to bring the disaster in Gaza to an end. His name is Joe Biden, and he has to do better. We know about peace processes in this country. We know that if there is to be peace, it has to be premised on the absence of violence. We know that if there is to be peace, there must be compromise. We know that if there has to be peace, one side cannot win absolutely. In this context, we cannot have a two-state solution to this problem without a State of Palestine or without the State of Israel. This has been an awful catastrophe to watch. From 7 October onwards, each day has brought forward new and fresh horror. The scale of the loss of life is simply horrific. It is emotionally gut-wrenching. It is anger-inducing.

The decision by the Irish State, along with those of European friends in Spain and Norway, to join many other countries in recognising the State of Palestine is an important one. It is symbolic but, in and of itself, it will not save a single Palestinian life. Only Israel can do that. We understand that Israel feels under siege. We understand, too, that for historical reasons, Israel has an understandable sensitivity to its place in the world. We know that Israel finds it hard to understand that when we in Ireland look at this problem, we do not primarily see Israelis and Gazans, but David and Goliath.

What has taken place in recent months has added to Israel's insecurity. Hamas cannot be eliminated by perpetuating the grievance that sustains its existence. To begin to put in place an end to this tragedy and this conflict, we need a peace process. The career of a single politician cannot be allowed to impede this necessity. President Joe Biden, in many ways, has had a remarkable Presidency but on this issue, the conflict in and over Gaza, the United States and President Biden have not had the courage of their convictions. President Biden knows that there is no long-term security for Israel that does not cater for the national aspiration of the Palestinians. You cannot say you advocate a two-state solution by word if those words are not matched by deeds. You cannot and should not protect an Israeli state that is not open to a genuine attempt to relaunch the peace process. You cannot do good while ignoring or cajoling a bad-faith actor. While tragedy unfolds on a daily basis in Gaza, the geographical basis for the two-state solution is being undermined by extremist settlers in the West Bank. In the face of the sheer horror of the last few months, there is only one legitimate response by the international community - try again, try harder, try seriously.

I say to you, President Biden, from these Houses, that discreet phone calls to try to rein in Netanyahu is not global leadership. Your current approach is prolonging this tragedy, not shortening it. The evidence shows that your strategy is contributing to the loss of life in Gaza and elsewhere. To you and the incoming UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, I say this. You know Ireland well and you know our peace process too well to think you have one going on in Israel and Palestine. You have got to do better than that. Others stand to help in good faith, but you have to lead and a Labour Party Prime Minister in the UK must also lead. Without a peace initiative involving the United States, the UK and the EU, we will witness the continuing brutalisation impoverishment and radicalisation of the Gazan people.

I fear we will have to witness more of the horrific scenes from Rafah that shook everyone to the core this weekend.

This war on the people of Gaza will not bring security to Israel. It will only create another generation brutalised by war, orphaned by war and intent on revenge. The longer that Israel continues its action in Gaza, the further we get from peace. Since mid-October, we have witnessed the entire population of Gaza herded from pillar to post, increasingly desperate for food, shelter and medical aid. Aid has become a negotiating card, not a humanitarian priority. The basic infrastructure of a functioning society - hospitals, schools and playgrounds - has been systematically razed to the ground. This is the intentional destruction of the Gazan people and their society, and an attempt to bomb them into a hand-to-mouth existence. It is the collective punishment of an entire people for the crimes of Hamas. It is genocide. It is a moral outrage and Israel has to stop.

Last week, we joined with our EU partner, Spain, and our European partner, Norway, in recognising the State of Palestine. We also know that other European states, such as Portugal and Slovenia, for example, are in favour of recognition in principle and are seeking a broad EU consensus before making further moves. This only serves yet again to underscore how dangerous and arrogant the actions of Ursula von der Leyen last autumn were. She does not represent the people of Ireland or the millions of Europeans who have marched to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. She does not represent the people of Ireland. Her credibility among the people of the European Union is at zero. At the time of her visit to Israel last autumn, we knew we were on the brink of a disproportionate Israeli military response, engendering a human crisis on an unprecedented scale. In short, we knew that thousands of Gazans would be killed and injured by the Israeli military, yet she said she stood with Israel. Her unilateral decision to give a blank cheque to the Netanyahu government was reckless, senseless and immoral. Ursula von der Leyen has lost all moral authority. She cannot lead the European Commission for another term.

In conclusion, last week was a proud one for Ireland. I pay tribute to those in campaign groups across Ireland who have kept the flame of peace alive over the decades and who have highlighted the plight of the Gazan people. However, our work in this House and beyond cannot stop at symbols. As I mentioned earlier, there are practical steps that Ireland and the EU can take to put pressure on Israel for a ceasefire. Most importantly, we have to use our influence to lay the foundations for a real peace process, a peace process that delivers dignity to the Palestinian people and security to the people of Israel. We know it is possible. We know the first step is a ceasefire and that a ceasefire has to happen now. We should lead in demanding an international boycott of the Israeli state on all fronts, on all levels, until that ceasefire begins and the steps to a process of peace begin.

To Palestinians in Ireland and across the world, your existence is your resistance and we recognise it here today.

Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development (Deputy Joe O'Brien)

It is a very significant and important day when a state formally recognises another. It did not really hit home for me how significant this was until I saw the Palestinian national flag flying on my way into Leinster House today. More than four years ago, when my party was negotiating for a commitment to recognise the State of Palestine in the programme for Government, we never thought it would be under such circumstances. Nevertheless, this formal expression of solidarity is hugely significant. I know from my own time working in Palestine that the Palestinian people look internationally for support in a variety of ways. This act of recognising the State of Palestine will have a real impact on the hopes that Palestinians have for peace and justice.

Since I have been in office, I have endeavoured to use my role, whenever possible, to support the protection of human rights in Palestine. When Palestinian human rights organisations were blacklisted by the IDF, I visited the West Bank, met with them and publicly declared support for their mission. I have met with the ICJ, with the ICC and with UNRWA in Brussels and Geneva, and, again, publicly supported their mission. I am proud that Ireland was first out in their defence. At the time, I wrote to the ambassadors of all of the countries that paused UNRWA funding. Many have reversed that position and I urge the remaining countries to follow suit.

This movement against UNRWA was and is symptomatic of a bigger issue. There is a war in Gaza but there is another war operating in parallel and now escalating. That is the war being waged on human rights and international humanitarian law, but also, in particular, against institutions that endeavour to protect and uphold them. The International Court of Justice is one of those institutions. It is one of the six organs of the United Nations and its decisions are binding. Let us recap some of the orders made by the ICJ in the last five months. Initially, in January, the ICJ announced that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide. In March, one of the orders was to take all necessary measures to ensure humanitarian aid is accessible, including increasing capacity and the number of land crossing points. Just last week, the ICJ ordered that Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governorate.

We all know how Israel has viewed these orders. People not familiar with the history of the illegal occupation of Palestine might not be aware of the decades of impunity that Israel has built this war on. It is this impunity that must change if we are to expect a different outcome to the long-standing conflict. There must be consequences. It is important to recap that in February, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and the Spanish Prime Minister wrote to President von der Leyen to request a review of the human rights clause in the EU-Israel association agreement. Frankly, what has followed has been a level of disregard for international agreements and human rights that has not just been hugely damaging to the Palestinian people but also damages the credibility of the Commission and other international institutions. If the EU does not at least temporarily suspend the EU-Israel association agreement, it is de facto supporting the growing disregard for international agreements, international law, the ICJ, the UN and the ICC, which have all been under attack of late. It is vital that we defend and protect the international institutions that endeavour to maintain a basic moral and legal order internationally. Their legitimacy is under attack and we should be very worried about this, not just in the context of Israel's actions in Gaza but going forward. Other international actors are watching closely to see how far Israel can go without major consequences and to see how much these vital international institutions are undermined.

I acknowledge the role that civil society has played in Palestine and in keeping hope alive among Palestinians every day. I also want to acknowledge the role civil society in Ireland has played in pushing for justice and true respect for human rights and in organising extraordinary experiences and expressions of solidarity. In particular, I acknowledge the extraordinary event that Bohemians Football Club organised recently with the Palestinian national women's team. Anyone there on the night will understand, respect and acknowledge that expressions of solidarity have a very real impact on people and their hopes.

A vibrant and varied civil society plays an important role in expressing public opinion in an open democracy. I acknowledge the efforts of the students’ union in Trinity College and what they have achieved. Civil society plays an important role in sparking change and I feel there is more potential for civil society to spark change. Through cross-societal agreements with unions and businesses, we can go further in nationally expressing our respect for human rights and our abhorrence for what has been inflicted on the people of Gaza.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I call the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins.

(Interruptions).

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Dáil is suspended for five minutes.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 4.30 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 4.34 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 4.30 p.m. and resumed at 4.34 p.m.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Visitors in the Gallery, I understand the strength of feeling and the significance of today, but I ask, please, for your co-operation as we continue. We will show our respect for the speakers, regardless of which side of the House they are on.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Emer Higgins)

Since 2020, when I was first elected, time and time again I have risen to my feet in support of fundamental rights for Palestinians. Today we raise the Palestinian flag above Dáil Éireann. Today we signal our support for a two-state solution. Today we are proud to be Irish. It is a momentous, significant and historic day. Spain and Norway join us in our recognition of the State of Palestine, and we encourage more countries to do the same because how can we ever get to a two-state solution without recognising Palestine as a state?

Every time I have risen to my feet here to discuss Palestine, the death toll there has increased, the destruction of Palestine has increased and the carnage in Palestine has increased, and so has the propaganda from the Israeli Government. I absolutely condemn the Hamas attack on 7 October. The 1,000 Israeli lives that have been lost since then should not have been lost. However, those awful figures, which represent real people and real families, stand in stark contrast to the 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza who have died since then, more than 15,000 of whom were children. Ten thousand more are missing. That is completely disproportionate. It is the Israel Defense Forces, known for their military precision, that are targeting babies and hospitals. The Israel Defense Forces, which have state-of-the-art technologies at their disposal, cannot tell the difference between artillery and aid at their borders. That is not credible. That is not an accident. That is not a mistake. Children are starving to death and humanitarian aid is being purposely blocked before it can get to them, before it can save children's lives. Israel has very clear obligations to provide access to humanitarian aid and it should be held to account on that.

I have been to Palestine. I have seen first-hand how Palestinians are treated by Israel Defense Forces members, and that was before this level of tension, before this level of war. Because of that disdain, the United Nations have been forced to halt all food distributions in Rafah after running out of supplies. We know that families are leaving their homes to travel to so-called safe zones, only to get there and find they are death zones. Israel needs to be held to account on that. That is why I believe that at a European level we need to talk sanctions. Israel is blatantly ignoring the International Court of Justice ruling last Friday. Ireland and Spain have been seeking to convene a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council for this reason, and I am glad that the Tánaiste secured that agreement yesterday. I really welcome the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach's continued engagement with the European and Arab ministers to co-ordinate support for the Arab peace vision, because diplomacy and negotiations are the only way to end the war in Gaza and to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. I have collaborated with the Tánaiste and his team, Sadaka - the Ireland Palestine Alliance and the Palestinian ambassador, who is here with us today. I have been to the United Nations headquarters to call on fellow international parliamentarians to back humanitarian aid, to back UNRWA, to back justice and to back freedom.

This conflict has upset and horrified so many people here in Ireland. Students from St. Joseph's College, Lucan, visited Leinster House this morning. One of the first questions they asked me was how Ireland is supporting Palestine, and I was proud to be able to say that Ireland is leading on this internationally. Ireland was one of the first countries to call for a ceasefire, to continue to back funding for UNRWA and to support the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice and today the Palestinian flag, flies proudly over Dáil Éireann as we formally recognise the State of Palestine.

Caoimhe Daffy, a sixth-year student from that same school, St. Joseph's, just last week won the Thomas Francis Meagher scholarship for her poem "Dóchas faoinár mBrat", or hope beneath the flag. I will finish by reading a section of the poem in its English translation.

Now the Flag is a symbol of peace.

And there will be hope for the children of Ireland.

And the children of the world

If you were born in Cork, or in Donegal

In Ukraine or in Palestine

When you see the Irish flag flowing

It says, ‘one hundred thousand welcomes’.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

The Zionist Government of Benjamin Netanyahu seems to believe that it can act with impunity, so much so that it has threatened Ireland, Norway and Spain with "dire consequences" for doing what we are doing today, what should have been done decades ago, what all states in the world should be doing as a minimum and what this Parliament agreed to do ten years ago. Most of the world's nations are looking on as Israeli forces are involved in continuous barbaric attacks on defenceless Palestinians and involved in genocide.

For decades, they have imposed a stranglehold on the region and, in revenge for Hamas's barbaric and unjustifiable attack on the music concert in Israel on 7 October last year, they have activated their murderous plans.

Thapaigh rialtas Benjamin Netanyahu an deis, tar éis ionsaithe mharfaigh Hamas ar Iosrael, scrios iomlán a dhéanamh ar Gaza agus an pobal atá ann a mharú nó a bhriseadh agus tuilleadh talaimh a ghoideadh ón Phalaistín ionas nach mbeadh aon seans go mbeadh Stát Palaistíneach beo beathach amach anseo. The Israeli Government is blatantly targeting the murder of men, women and children, having starved them, destroyed their homes and shifted them here, there and everywhere in a small enclave of Gaza as if they were cattle, before corralling them into kill zones where they drop precision bombs on them as they sleep in their tents or shelters pulled together from the rubble of their homes or surrounding buildings, bombed out of existence for over seven months in the modern-day carpet bombing of a city.

While within minutes many western nations rightly sought to impose sanctions on Russia and send aid to Ukraine and its beleaguered Government, the world has been very slow to act in defence of or aid the besieged, starving Palestinian population of Gaza. The message should go out loud and clear: sanctions now, boycott now. It is high time the human rights clauses of the European-Mediterranean agreement should be triggered in full.

Deputy John Brady

I welcome Ireland's long overdue recognition of the State of Palestine. As we look on that state or what remains of it today, only a fraction is under Palestinian authority. Israel has steadily and illegally annexed huge areas of Palestinian territory, employing a strategy of apartheid, displacement and dispersion. Palestinians remaining in these territories are left a fragmented people living in South Africa-like Bantustans, subject to indiscriminate violence from the state and from illegal colonial Israeli settlers. There are over 700,000 Jewish Israeli settlers living in more than 144 illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Recently the Israeli Minister of Settlement and National Missions said:

There will never be a Palestinian state in the land of Israel. Every cultured person in the world knows that this land is ours, for the Israeli people and only for us.

They claim there is no such thing as a Palestinian people. Today's announcement, while long overdue, is a beacon of hope to Palestinians that there still is a Palestinian state and there are still Palestinian people and always will be.

This action should not be symbolic. The next steps need to be taken now. As the bombs continue to fall on Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza, we need to see the full implementation of international law. We need to see the application of sanctions, not just against the State of Israel but the individual architects of its campaign of genocide. We need to see the establishment of a full Irish Embassy in East Jerusalem, the implementation and enactment of the occupied territories Bill and the introduction of the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill. We need a commitment that, if the war criminal Netanyahu sets foot in this State, he will be arrested immediately. Let the message go from the Dáil today to the people of the world on behalf of the Irish people that, in our thousands and millions, we are all Palestinians.

Deputy Holly Cairns

I warmly welcome the Palestinian ambassador and everyone in the Gallery. I am proud to stand here with the Palestinian flag raised outside as we officially recognise the State of Palestine. It is more important than ever that we take a stand as a country to make our support for the people of Palestine clear.

I was struck by the words of Charlotte Phillips, a Palestinian footballer who played in the recent game with Bohemians in Dalymount. As she stood on the pitch with thousands of Palestinian flags waving and chants filling the stadium, she stated: “They thought they could get rid of us, and they can't - this is proof of our existence.”

The simple things we take for granted, such as the ability to fly our flag, sing our anthem and express our culture and nationality proudly and openly, are out of reach for millions of Palestinians. As the very existence of Palestine is under threat, it is essential we do everything in our power to assist the Palestinian people in their time of need.

Today as we stand in this Chamber, Israeli tanks are entering Rafah. According to Israel, Rafah was a safe zone. Because of that, more than 1 million people were displaced there. Now it is a battleground like everywhere in Gaza because nowhere is safe. There is no safety from disease, famine or Israeli missiles.

On Sunday, Israel bombarded a refugee camp in Rafah, killing at least 45 people. Many of those who died were burned alive inside their tents. The images of families desperately trying to save each other from the enormous flames, of charred bodies and of maimed children are some of the most horrific to emerge from these eight months of relentless slaughter. These images should be seared into the memory of every person and every government who has excused and facilitated this genocide.

Israeli claims that this attack was a tragedy and that they will investigate how it happened are barely worth acknowledging. We already know what the conclusion of this so-called investigation will be because it will be the same as every other investigation into the murder of Palestinians by Israel: it was a mistake, they were aiming at Hamas, this will not happen again - until it does and the exact same excuses are churned out over and over again. Worst of all, these pathetic excuses will be accepted by their allies. Germany has not even waited for the Israeli investigation to take place before declaring it a mistake. Meanwhile, Germany continues to supply Israel with weapons. German military exports to Israel have increased tenfold.

For too long the international community’s reaction to conflicts like this is to defer to America but the Americans will not act to stop Israel’s carnage. Joe Biden has made it clear that there is no red line for Israel. There is no action Israel can take that will stop America from arming and funding this genocide.

The ICJ has called on Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah but the call is falling on deaf ears. This is a real test for the concept of the EU as a peace project and a force for good; it is a test that it is currently spectacularly failing. EU leaders must ask themselves whether they respect human rights, the Genocide Convention, the Geneva Convention and the independence of the ICJ and ICC.

The unprecedented ICC decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Government and Hamas leaders speaks to the enormity of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. The Israeli Government is doing everything it can to avoid accountability. The Guardian reported today that the former head of Mossad threatened a chief prosecutor of the ICC and tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation. According to accounts shared with ICC officials, he is alleged to have told her:

You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family.

The recognition of the State of Palestine is welcome and long overdue but it must be the first step of many. We cannot maintain normal diplomatic and trade relationships with a country committing a genocide before our eyes. We need to push harder to suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement. We need to stop Ireland’s export of dual-use technology to Israel. We need to enact the Illegal Israeli Settlement Divestment Bill and the occupied territories Bill. We need to do absolutely everything in our power and use every lever to stop this genocide, even if we have to act alone.

Deputy Gary Gannon

Let me begin by acknowledging our friend, Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, ambassador of Palestine. I also acknowledge the members of the Palestinian community who are in the Gallery. In particular, I extend my warmest welcome to Dr. Wael Abunamous, his wife, Suha and their seven children. Bombed from their home in Gaza, they found refuge in my community in East Wall. They have made our community all the better for it. We are so sorry for all of your suffering. We mourn with you and hope that this will come to an end.

To begin, let me acknowledge the importance of what we are doing today in recognising the State of Palestine. I also recognise that our Government has gone further than most, because the bar has been set so low. I hope the Government will recognise that this cannot be the end and that we have so much more we need to do. This in itself, is not even close to being enough. Also, please do not call this a victory for diplomacy or any one approach because it simply is not.

While the Tánaiste talked of intense discussions that went on for months behind closed doors, there was not a roof or a door in Gaza that was not blown off its hinges. If diplomacy is acting at a slower pace than genocide, then diplomacy is failing. As we come here today, there will be a single call coming across the Chamber and I hope it is listened to, namely, that we must intensify our efforts. We must go further and indeed beyond ourselves. If diplomacy is acting at a slower pace than genocide then it is failing and genocide is exactly what is happening. We see that in the enforced famine inflicted on the people of Gaza. We see it in the 2,000 lb bombs that are being dropped every single day. In late November last year we debated in this Chamber whether Israel had bombed a hospital. At the time we were told to be careful because we did not know the full facts. At this point, Israel has bombed every single hospital in Gaza. We know the facts. They have obliterated universities as a way of ending the cultural and intellectual integrity of Gaza. They have killed 36,000 people, including 15,000 children at this point, not counting those who remain under the rubble. They make no distinction between man, woman and child. We know the facts. They have targeted journalists precisely to prevent them from telling the truth. UN workers have been annihilated. We know the facts. What we have known is that until very recently, until the last 48 hours or potentially this act, Israel has faced absolutely no consequences for its actions. As we recognise the State of Palestine, let us recognise what led us to this point, the suffering, horror, death, inhumanity and apartheid that had to bring us this particular space, for us to recognise Palestine, 31 years after the Oslo Accords. While acknowledging the pace of that, which was too slow, which led to all this devastation, can we please, intensify our efforts? Can we please go further? The Israel-EU trade agreement finally came on to the table last night. This is far too slow. The humanitarian clauses built into it may as well have been taken out.

We talk about the fact that we somehow still have to deal with Israel through trade as if it were a normal entity. We are told that unseen legal advice suggests to us that we cannot enact the occupied territories Bill. Why not? Boycott is a tradition given to the world by the Irish people against our own oppressor. Why can we not apply that to the oppressor of others? In terms of the occupied territories Bill, we have to. We are told that we cannot cease diplomatic relations with Israel, despite the fact that Israel behaves like no other entity and despite the fact that Israel summons the Irish, Spanish and Norwegian ambassadors and makes them watch videos of atrocities and for the world's media to mock and condemn. Why do we treat Israel as if it is a normal entity? Why do we have to maintain the illusion of democracy and the pageantry of diplomacy while bombs are raining down? Bring this horror to an end. It will not end without consequences. Israel has never faced consequences for its actions. It has only become more and more emboldened, more cynical and more indiscriminate in its massacring. Every once in a while, the Israelis will say, "Sorry, we got that one wrong" and we are supposed to go, "Well, fair enough". No more. Bring this horror and slaughter to an end. Go beyond that. If we believe in a two-state solution, let us recognise that one is being obliterated and that we cannot have normal relations with the other under those conditions.

Deputy Leo Varadkar

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I will start by complimenting the Tánaiste, Deputy Martin, for taking the lead on this and for doing the ground work over a number of months to get us to this position. I also want to recognise the role of the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and many other Members of this House who have called for recognition for a long time. I believe it is an important symbolic but also practical moment. It underlines our view that the Palestinians' right to have their own state is as valid as and equal to that of the Israeli people. It means that the starting point for any internationally-mediated talks should be that there is a fully-fledged Palestinian state, not a Palestinian entity, not a form of a state, not a dependency, not a reservation or a Bantustan, but a full-fledged, independent state. Of course, negotiations will have to take place about borders, the transition and security guarantees for Israel and Palestine, which will be needed, about normalisation of relations between Israel and all the other countries of the region, which is crucial, and the fraught question of the future of refugees and the holy sites.

I would like to make a few points that I think are relevant. First of all, recognition of Palestine is not support for, nor a recognition of Hamas, in any way. The United States recognises Cuba and Iran but nobody would suggest that the United States endorses the governments of those places. We recognise Afghanistan and Russia but nobody would suggest that this means recognition or support for the Taliban or Putin. We recognise Israel and have done so since independence.. That does not mean that we support the Israeli Government or the actions of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. As the Government has said, recognition is based on the 1967 borders. These can only be changed by negotiation and agreement, not by violence or annexation. I know that it is popular to refer to the term, "From the river to the sea". This may mean different things to different people. To some people, it means the end of the Israeli state. That is not what we are saying here. We are saying a two-state solution, an Israeli state and a Palestinian one, in the area between the river and the sea.

Ireland now joins some 140 countries out of 200 countries in the world that recognise the State of Palestine. We are not in the minority, we are in a very large majority of countries that recognise the State of Palestine. Those that do not are almost all in the global north or in the West, if that term is preferable. Often they are countries that have their own history of colonialism and imperialism. That is not a coincidence. I think more countries will follow suit. I am encouraged that President Macron of France has said that it is no longer taboo to recognise the Palestinian state before peace talks are concluded. I note that the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, has not ruled it out. Belgium, Malta and Slovenia have said they will do so when the time is right. I hope that what is being done here by Spain, Norway and Ireland will help members of the public and politicians in other countries to put pressure on their governments for recognition and then for further action.

In terms of the next steps we can take, I believe we are correct to pursue things in a multilateral rather than a unilateral way. We need to seek to bring people with us, not prove how righteous we are. When it comes to talking to the United States, we should take up the call for the Leahy Laws to be extended to Israel. This is legislation in America that says that when America sells weapons to other countries, it can do so with conditions applied to the general forces or to specific forces. It is long overdue that this legislation be applied to the IDF.

At EU level, we can continue to press for a review, if not a suspension, of the EU-Israel association agreement. For too long, most of us in the western world have allowed ourselves to be convinced that Israel is a liberal, western democracy and belongs in our club. Clearly, that is not the case. This is a country that does not share our values any more, if it ever did. We can see from its actions in Gaza that it is profoundly illiberal and far from being a democracy in the European or American sense. It is a country where there are different sets of rights for different sorts of people. Jewish people have one set of rights, even if they only arrived in the country yesterday. Israeli Arabs have a different set of rights, even though they may have been there for generations. Those who have lived under occupation and military law for 70 years now in the West Bank and Gaza have a different set of rights.

There is a fourth set of rights if the Druze community is included. No democracy in the world operates on that basis. Regarding the change of policy by the Government, previously we had taken the view that recognition should only happen when a two-state solution is agreed. That has changed, not because of the events of 6, 7, 8 or 9 October but rather the rejection of a two-state solution by the Israeli Government and the Israeli prime minister, the fact that no serious talks have taken place since 2014, and, of course, Israel's actions in Gaza. While Israel, like all states, has the right to defend itself, it does not have the right to do wrong. I believe we are witnessing a war of revenge, the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and gross violations of international humanitarian law and basic principles of humanity.

The war in Gaza is a disaster, most of all, of course, for the Palestinian people who have been killed, injured, maimed, bereaved or suffering. However, it is also a disaster for Israel. The war has gone on now for six months and it is a total failure. Hamas has not been defeated, the hostages have not been released and some are dying in captivity. Israel is losing support around the world, including in Europe and, indeed, in the United States where people of colour and those of the younger generation are increasingly turning against Israel. It is also radicalising people in the Middle East and other parts of the world, some of whom may become a security threat to Israel in the future. It is a total military and political failure, not just a humanitarian catastrophe.

I want to say a few words about antisemitism. Ireland is a safe country for Jewish people. We have a small Jewish community here for centuries whose members have made a valuable contribution to the State in politics, law, business, medicine and other fields. We are grateful for that. To my knowledge, no Jewish person in Ireland has ever been killed or even seriously injured as a consequence of their faith or identity. However, antisemitism exists in Ireland and we should be upfront about that; it exists in every country. For the first time, I know some Irish Jewish people feel a conflict between their Irish and Jewish identities and that is very sad. I have Jewish friends in New York, London and other places who, for the first time in their lives, are uncomfortable about wearing the Star of David around their neck or expressing their Jewish identity, and feel threatened by some of the things that happen at pro-Palestine rallies. We must say today that we also unequivocally reject antisemitism. Irish Jews and Jewish people in general are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli Government or the IDF. Many are not even citizens of Israel. We know during the Troubles when the IRA committed terrible atrocities and targeted civilians, sometimes Irish people in the UK and in other places were made to feel bad about that or made to feel responsible. That was wrong and we must make sure we protect Jewish communities around the world and Irish Jewish communities from that kind of politics or those kind of attitudes. We should not forget that Israel itself is a society in which many people are protesting for a ceasefire and where many support a two-state solution if they can be confident a Palestinian state will not be used as a base to attack them. Hamas is a deeply antisemitic organisation and we need to be clear in speaking to Palestinians that there can be no role for Hamas in the future government of Gaza or a Palestinian state, at least not with our support and assistance.

Finally, regarding BDS, we need to be smart and proportionate in the way we approach this. Yes, it is right to boycott and divest from settlement activity but it would not be right to do so from the Israeli state that we recognise. Similarly, when we engage in boycotts, we need to be careful not to boycott the wrong people. There is a strong strain of academics in Israel, human rights activists and civil society, who oppose the human rights abuses that are occurring and have a different vision for their state. It is important they are the ones who should not be boycotted or ostracised and we should do so on an appropriate basis.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Haughey was to have six and a half minutes. If he likes, there is another Government slot in 15 minutes and there is six and a half minutes available.

Deputy Seán Haughey

No, I will proceed now.

An Ceann Comhairle

We will take the three minutes from the next Government slot and give it to you now, with the agreement of the House.

Deputy Matt Carthy

Agreed.

Deputy Seán Haughey

Perfect.

Today, 28 May 2024, is an historic day. Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, formally recognises the State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders. This brings to eight the number of European states that have done this. It has taken many years and much diplomacy and negotiation to bring us to this point. In 1980, Ireland was the first EU state to back the principle of Palestinian statehood. In 2014, as we have heard, the Dáil and Seanad passed motions calling on the Government to officially recognise the State of Palestine. Then, in 2020, a commitment was given to do this in the programme for Government agreed between the three coalition parties at the appropriate time. In recent days, the question has been asked why we do this and what is the practical effect of this policy decision. Some have said it is nothing more than a symbolic gesture. Recognition at this time, given all that has happened particularly since the brutal attacks by Hamas on 7 October, helps advance the calls for a two-state solution, whereby both Israel and Palestine can exist side by side in peace and security. It is clear that a two-state solution is the only viable option to secure the just and lasting peace in the Middle East for which we all hope. Unfortunately, this move has been criticised by the Israeli Government and, therefore, let me put a few things on the record. Recognition of the State of Palestine does not constitute antisemitism. Neither does it indicate support for Hamas, or reward terrorism or does it mean Israel does not have the right to exist. The complete opposite is the case. Finally, condemnation of the actions of the current Israeli Government in Gaza should not be interpreted as antisemitism or opposition to the Israeli state itself. Ireland's guiding principle on this issue, and on foreign policy generally, ultimately boils down to a commitment to international humanitarian law and to upholding fundamental human rights. The actions in Gaza of the current Israeli Government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

The Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, is well able to defend the policies of her government by making all sorts of threats against Ireland and testing our patience and tolerance in the process. One would have to ask at this stage: is Israel going to continue as a liberal democracy at all? The treatment of the Irish ambassador to Israel in response to the recognition announcement by the Israeli foreign ministry was disgraceful and not in keeping with the norms of a democratic state or international diplomacy. In recent years, we have witnessed the rowing back on democratic norms in Israel, as witnessed by the mass protests on the streets, which started well before the attacks on 7 October. Now we are watching the Israeli Government completely ignoring the rulings of the International Court of Justice. As we know in the context of the genocide case taken by South Africa, the ICJ ordered Israel to halt its military offensive on Gaza, among other things. The response of Israel was to launch a full-scale military operation on Rafah, which also included attacking the Rafah refugee camp.

Ireland must continue its efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, there must be a non-conditional release of the hostages and we should continue to advocate for safe and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza. In this regard, I pay tribute to the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs for the time and effort he has been putting in to resolving these issues. Ireland has led the way on these matters. I am aware the Tánaiste is engaging in talks this week with EU and Arab leaders to help advance the Arab peace vision. Now is most definitely the time for the international community to get behind these initiatives once and for all. It is welcome that yesterday EU foreign ministers, for the first time, discussed the prospects of imposing sanctions on Israel given its response or lack of it to the ICJ orders. In addition, the EU needs to support the reform plan of the Palestinian authority. It is also time, finally, for the European Commission to review the EU-Israel trade agreement having regard to its human rights clauses.

I also welcome the developments yesterday at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in this regard. As we heard from other speakers, there is much work to be done but today is an important milestone. The Palestinian flag is flying proudly in the grounds of Leinster House. Today is just a first step. We must now do all we can to bring about a just and lasting peace in this troubled part of the Middle East.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I have listened to commentators in recent days talk about the significance of the recognition of Palestine in the Dáil. Some say this is merely symbolism and that symbolism does not matter. If people doubt the power of symbolism, I encourage them to listen to the words of the Palestinian national team player Charlotte Phillips, who lined out against the Bohemian women's team on 15 May in Dalymount. She spoke after the game with her grandparents by her side. She said, "They thought they could get rid of us and they cannot - this is proof of our existence." While we rightly mark this occasion, I cannot get the images from Rafah out of my mind - children massacred and maimed, families destroyed and people burned alive. The sheer brutality of the actions of Israel must have consequences. We can and must do more. We must do it and do it now. We hear Government spokespersons tell us we have to wait for the European Union; we did not wait in 1984. Mary Manning did not wait in 1984. She showed leadership. We need to show that leadership now. There is no hiding place any more. We can see it on our phones and it is in our living rooms. Even those who were not aware of what was happening in Palestine cannot be unaware now. We have to do more than symbolism, although symbolism is important.

In the few moments I have, I want to pay tribute to the men and women of the trade union Friends of Palestine and the work they have done. Long before we had social media to bring us our news, we had the trade union Friends of Palestine bringing the message of the Palestinian struggle to union conferences, training sessions and directly onto the shop floor. People like my friend, Mags O'Brien, a tireless campaigner and activist never missed an opportunity to remind us to keep the people of Palestine in our thoughts and actions. For Mags and all the campaigners, today is significant but what we do tomorrow and every day after is what will really matter. That means real consequences for the Israeli genocide and no votes for Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament.

Deputy Pauline Tully

It will be ten years in December since a Sinn Féin motion was passed mandating the Government to officially recognise the State of Palestine. It is truly an historic development that Ireland is finally recognising Palestinian statehood. It is gravely unfortunate, however, that it has taken so long and that it has taken such savagery, especially in the past seven months, for the Government to finally act. The cruelty and barbarity over the past seven months in Gaza have resulted, so far, in more than 35,000 Palestinians being killed by the Israeli military, with more than 70,000 injured. Recognition in and of itself is not enough. The Government must put in place sanctions against Israel for its ongoing breaches of international law. Israel's brutal attacks on civilians sheltering in Rafah on Sunday underscore the need for sanctions to bring Israel into adherence with the recent order of the ICJ that it cease military operations in Rafah. The Government needs to stop hiding behind EU procurement obligations. The 2014 EU directives on public procurement contain specific provisions excluding tenderers guilty of certain human rights infringements from participation in public procurement. According to a recent report commissioned by Uplift, Ireland imported military equipment from Israel to the value of at least €8.5 million, primarily for military drones and other equipment in the past ten years up to 2024. Half of this trade was with Israeli Government-owned company Aeronautics Defense Systems, whose unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been used in the onslaught on Gaza. Elbit Systems, also a beneficiary of State contracts, has been subject to allegations including the production of cluster bombs. Elbit's surveillance technology is used in Israeli settlements as well as in the Israeli annexation wall, which the International Court of Justice deemed unlawful in 2004. The Government must stop its trade with companies that provide the Israeli military with the equipment it is using in its brutal attack on the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem. This must include enacting the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023, the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, joining the ICJ case against Israel and increasing funding to UNRWA.

A just and lasting peace between Palestine and Israel requires an end to the occupation and apartheid systems imposed on the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state. Sinn Féin is committed to playing a constructive role with the Irish Government and international community to encourage and actively support dialogue between all sides and to develop a durable, inclusive and sustainable conflict resolution process.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I also welcome the Palestinian ambassador, other members of the Palestinian community and activists to the Gallery. I welcome, in particular, Zak Hania, his wife Batoul and their children. I am delighted Zak escaped the horror of what Israel has been inflicting on the people of Gaza, which continues as we speak, as men, women and children are slaughtered by this genocidal regime. This day of Palestinian state recognition is the result of the endless and heroic resistance of the Palestinian people and the enormous protests and mobilisations of people across this country and the world. It is that resistance and protest that has brought us to this day. It should not have taken seven months of a genocidal massacre being inflicted on the people of Gaza, with 35,000 people slaughtered, 15,000 children, Gaza destroyed and famine conditions imposed on the entire population for us to get to this moment. The horror of the past seven months is a direct result of the impunity that has been granted to Israel by the United States and the European Union, including this State, for failing to impose sanctions on a regime that has been guilty of ethnic cleansing, occupation, apartheid, the siege of Gaza and systematic ongoing brutal murderous oppression of the Palestinian people for decades. All of them - the EU and the US - have the blood of Palestinians on their hands for failing to rein in this rogue regime. Symbolic recognition of the Palestinian state, while it is a welcome step forward, will not end the horror of what Israel is willing to inflict on the Palestinian people unless the succour, support, arms, weapons, political support and trade relations the EU and US continue to extend to a regime capable of this horror, end. Is it now not obvious that there is no atrocity Israel is not willing to commit? It will do any horror to the Palestinian people. In the short time available, I have to challenge the constant mantra of a two-state solution. We all want a ceasefire, peace and an end to this horror, whether Palestinians, Jewish people, Christians or people of no religion. Is it not obvious now that the Israeli regime is not interested in any of those things? It was built on the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948. It has been sustained every year for decades and decades by ethnic cleansing, murderous occupation and apartheid.

That is not the product of this or that government. It is written into the laws and constitution of the Israeli state. The former Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, was absolutely right - I wish he had said this when he was Taoiseach - that systematic apartheid operates in this regime. Will we say it is okay to continue with an apartheid system and that it is okay to continue to deny millions of Palestinians the right to return, which they have under international law? A two-state solution will not give them the right to return. It will not dismantle the system of apartheid. Apartheid has no place in the civilised world. The Palestinian refugees - all of them - have the right to return under international law, and the people who are occupied have the right to resist. Those who defend apartheid have no rights under international law. Those who defend or enforce occupation have no rights under international law. Only the people who are occupied have the right to resist and they have the right to dismantle that regime. What we need to do is do what was done to apartheid South Africa and dismantle this occupation and this regime that is capable of genocide. We need sanctions, as was done with apartheid South Africa. I hope this will be the first step towards that but the people will have to lead because we know Governments have failed to do so until now.

Deputy Gino Kenny

I do have not much time, but there are brutal times and happy times in all of our lives. The happy time is today, when we can celebrate and welcome the recognition of Palestine. Some people will call it symbolic, but symbolism brings huge hope across the world. Where there is hope, there is solidarity and friendship from the people of Ireland. However, there are also brutal times. Those brutal times continue in Gaza. Anybody who watched the Channel 4 programme, "Kill Zone: Inside Gaza: Dispatches", last night will be left cold in the face of inhumanity to humanity. It is an affront to humanity that children are slaughtered daily. There has to be accountability for this because if there is not, that will be a stain on humanity. Israel has to be made accountable politically, economically and diplomatically because if we do not do so, that will be a stain on our history and humanity. Sometimes there are no adjectives left to describe what is going on in Gaza, but we have to keep hoping. We have to keep marching and we have to keep talking. That is what gives the people of Gaza hope during this out and out slaughter by the Israelis. If our humanity is gone, then everything is gone. We cannot lose humanity. We cannot lose our sense of humanity in terms of what is going on in Gaza at the moment. We have to keep hoping. We have to find peace. We have to find a political solution. We also have to give solidarity to the people of Gaza at this particularly terrible time.

Deputy Bríd Smith

Like others, I welcome everyone in the Public Gallery, and I welcome the ambassador into the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. It is great to see Zak Hania home. I am delighted he got back and that he and his family are here today. As has been said by many Members, it is a positive and historic move, and an advance that we have recognised the Palestinian state today and are flying the flag. Maybe the Ceann Comhairle could answer later, but is the intention to keep the flag flying, like the Ukraine flag has flown for the past two years? It is important that we show that solidarity for as long as this genocide continues and Palestine is occupied. What we have done is brilliant, but it has been done on the back of a movement that has overtaken society in all countries across the world in an outstanding display of solidarity, support, anger and determination to free the Palestinian people. However, let us not forget that on Sunday Israel murdered dozens of children and women in the most brutal way. As its genocide intensifies, we need to do more than raise a flag.

I want to talk about the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign that the Irish State needs to take hold of and impose. It has been mentioned but is worth reiterating that every year the State pays almost €300,000 to an Israeli company called Aeronautics Defense Systems, which maintains our drones. It is also the company that makes the drones that drop bombs on the children of Palestine. Why is the Government fast-tracking 100 visas for Israeli engineers to fly here to work with Intel, while Palestinians fleeing the genocide have to sleep in tents along the canal and then have them taken from them? There is a huge disparity between what we say and what we do. It is high time we implemented sanctions, boycott and divestment. People mention the Dunnes Stores strike as an example, which is an important one, but they were on strike for three years before the Government copped on, did the right thing and brought in legislation to boycott South African goods and vegetables. Let us not do this to the people of Gaza. Let us act soon.

Deputy Patrick Costello

Like others I think this is a hopeful day, and a day to celebrate. I was working in Palestine in 2014 when Sweden recognised the Palestinian state. I witnessed first-hand the hope and joy of the Palestinians around me, with Swedish flags appearing on taxis and everywhere. It was a celebration. It was a moment when they felt their struggle was recognised and seen, and that people were standing beside them. I know our recognition can give that same hope. The fact that it has been done with Spain and Norway adds to it all the more. This is an important moment of hope. Hope is absolutely needed now because in many ways the situation appears to be completely hopeless. We have an intransigent Israeli Government. As was said earlier in this House by several speakers, it is the most right-wing government in the history of that state. We have seen relentless settlement building, creating new facts on the ground and utterly eroding the Palestinian state we are here to recognise and try to protect. We also see state-sponsored and supported violence from the settlers in those settlements that further puts pressure on Palestinians. That leads to Palestinians being driven out of their homes and villages as they are attacked and burned by armed settlers escorted and supported by the Israeli Defense Forces. Again, this is very much a deliberate policy of the government to remove Palestinians from their land. There is ongoing forced transfer and ongoing demolition of homes and villages. Without firm and strong action, places like Masafer Yatta, Arab al-Jahalin and Khan al-Ahmar will join places like Deir Yassin and Zeitoun that have been wiped off the map by the Israeli Government. They are nothing but ghost villages and towns that have been utterly destroyed and their residents massacred. Recognition is an incredibly important step to push back against that hopelessness, and to show the Palestinians we stand with them and support them. However, it is just a first step. We need to do more to put pressure on the Israeli Government. We need to do more to put pressure on the government to ensure international law is enforced. Without a fair and just solution based firmly on human rights and international law, there is no hope for the region. We need to support international law as part of a diplomatic solution in a quest for justice. If Israel is ignoring that, and ignoring the ICJ and the ICC, we, as a State that stands up for international law, have a responsibility to ensure the judgments of the ICC and ICJ are enforced, made real and made meaningful.

We do need to see boycott, divestment and sanctions and the occupied territories Bill. I know advice from the Attorney General says that Bill is illegal and could not pass, but that is just advice. Legal advice only becomes legal fact in front of a judge, so let us pass the occupied territories Bill, go to Luxembourg and the Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, and defend it, because it will do nothing more than make real our commitments that we already have under international law. It is designed to fit perfectly into European Union law and to make real international law such that occupations everywhere will not be supported, and that is an incredibly important step. It is the next step we must take, beyond recognition, to ensure we will push back against the Israeli Government's agenda and actions here. While what we are seeing in Rafah and Gaza is horrendous, heartbreaking and appalling, when the bombs stop falling and the hostages are released, the occupation will still be there and we need to be aware of that and to keep fighting against the occupation, even beyond this horrific current stage of violence.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I am absolutely appalled at the state of devastation in Gaza, that is, the destruction of homes and the murder of innocent women and children, who are victims of the appalling aggression shown by the Israel Defense Forces. I am also appalled at the lack of a solution at this stage. Notwithstanding the fact many governments, in the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world, are making every possible effort to find peace and get a ceasefire, that has not been successful or achieved up to now. From talking to young people, I know how disgusted they are at the appalling loss of life.

As for what we can do about it, outside Leinster House today, three flags as well as our own are flying. There is the Palestinian flag, the Ukrainian flag and the European Union flag, and that shows we embrace peace and finding solutions to problems through Europe. It is our job to press inside the European Union with our colleagues and friendly nations on the same side as us on this issue that there must be significant intervention now. Its absence will only continue this appalling death and evil that are being visited on the people of Palestine, which is absolutely and totally abhorrent.

I also absolutely condemn what Hamas has done to innocent men, women and children in Israel and the appalling acts it carried out. Israel is using an acceptable level of force in response, and there are other ways of getting outcomes that will destroy Hamas and, at the same time, not kill all the innocent civilians who are being murdered every day and night.

I welcome the orders of the International Court of Justice, the prime body that makes comments and judgments on international human rights and this humanitarian crisis. It is absolutely essential that Israel accept the orders of the International Court of Justice, halt its offensive and, in particular, allow aid into Gaza. These court orders are binding and Israel must be seen to comply with international law. As the Tánaiste has noted, if Israel fails to comply with Friday's international court ruling, we have to consider all options with our EU partners to ensure the upholding of international law. One symbol the flags of the two countries I mentioned and of the European Union represent to me is the lack of power the United Nations has as a body. It can pass resolutions left, right and centre and it can send peacekeeping soldiers from various member states to countries in Africa and the Middle East to enforce peace or to ensure peace results, but in both Ukraine and Palestine, that is not happening. That shows a real weakness at the very heart of the United Nations, whereby it is failing in its duty of care to protect the most vulnerable people, both in Ukraine and in Palestine.

I agree with and fully support all the actions of the Government. The Tánaiste, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, has been exceptionally diligent and outspoken in condemning the actions of Israel, and that is appropriate and proper. We in Ireland have a long history of occupation by a foreign power. It does not go back just 100 years but several hundred years. It has in the past been a source of war and terror for many citizens through many generations. Thankfully, that all ended with the Good Friday Agreement and our relationship with Britain, North-South and east-west, has significantly improved following the Good Friday Agreement. It is a peace agreement that could be signed by all the parties involved, and I think that is the only way forward. I support and strongly urge the Government to continue its efforts and I back all the actions it takes, including the recognition of the Palestinian state.

Deputy Thomas Gould

I am sharing time. What should have been a proud and nice day, when this State recognised the Palestinian state, has lost a lot of that with what happened on Sunday and the horrific atrocities and war crimes carried out by the Israeli state. We look at the photographs and videos that come from there and we heard people screaming as the Israeli Government burned men, women and children alive, and the world stands by while 35,000 men, women and children, including 15,000 children, are slaughtered.

The genocide that is happening is unbelievable. A child was left with no head and the Israeli Government said it was a mistake. I hope Benjamin Netanyahu burns in hell, just as those children and their families burned. I hope that when his God finally brings him, his generals and his far-right government in Israel to their resting place, they will burn in hell. Not only is what is happening now apartheid, an atrocity and a war crime; it is horrific. Where are their souls? Where are the souls of the Israeli people who allow their government to do this to children? Where is the humanity of the Israeli people, after everything the Jewish people have suffered over the decades, that they would allow their government to do this to other human beings? They may not be human beings in the eyes of Netanyahu and his far-right Israeli Government, but Palestinians are human beings. Today, the Irish people say we recognise Palestine and we recognise they are human beings, just like every one of us. Shame on Israel and what it has done. It will never be forgotten.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

Today, we formally recognise Palestine as a state. We recognise that Palestine is a state like any other and we recognise that it belongs among the family of nations. Ireland is often said to be Palestine's strongest European supporter, owing to our shared colonial experience. The people of Ireland have long recognised Palestine and it is good the Government has finally caught up with the Irish people on this. We share this recognition with Spain and Norway today and with Sweden, which recognised Palestine in 2014, when we had an opportunity to do that too.

Sinn Féin's motion, which was accepted by the Dáil ten years ago, would have paved way for this; however, the Government sat on its hands.

I pay tribute to those in the Public Gallery and to all those who have been part of grassroots movements that have helped us to get to this point and who have been active for years and in many cases decades. I also pay tribute to the many Palestinians who have spoken truth to power time and again to make their voices heard in a world that simply refuses to listen. As the late Palestinian poet, Professor Refaat Alareer, wrote just days before he was killed by an Israeli airstrike in December, "If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale."

We recognise the Palestinian state against a backdrop of the continuation of a genocide unfolding in Gaza, with the loss of more than 34,000 lives, more than 11,000 people missing, presumed dead, and more than 77,000 wounded, many with life-changing injuries. Recognition of Palestine's nationhood is not enough. It will not stop this genocide or Israel's efforts to remove these people from their ancestral homeland. We need full-blown sanctions. The EU's double standards have been laid bare for all to see. We need to remove Israel's participation in Horizon Europe. We need the EU to revoke the EU-Israel association agreement. We need the imposition of the occupied territories Bill. We have a responsibility as Irish people to shout "Stop". We have to put our heads above the parapet and do everything we can to stop this genocide.

Deputy Matt Shanahan

Ireland has a deeply felt understanding of the desire of people for the recognition of their own place, culture and existence. Eight hundred years of occupation and a great deal of repression did nothing to quell the Irish desire for freedom, self-determination, self-rule and the international recognition of our civil rights. The Irish State as it is today is often used as an international reference for how people with different cultures, ethnicity, religion and history can live in the same place and on the same land.

The history of Palestine is not remote from the history of Ireland. Principally, it recognises the desire of people to live freely in their own state. The ownership of land and the ability of peoples to live peacefully on that land are at the heart of the Palestinian question. The question of who should reside in that space and who can or should claim ownership of that land has been an international one dating back to 1917 and the Balfour Declaration. That declaration favoured the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, an area that had been under Ottoman rule for centuries and was placed under British stewardship and governorship in 1920 after a League of Nations mandate. Post the Second World War, Jewish migration to Palestine was encouraged and supported, as was the move to the recognition of the State of Israel in what was considered to be the Jewish biblical home. This was in spite of the significant Arab population in the region. This culminated in 1947 with the United Nations partition resolution to divide Britain's former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states.

The State of Israel declared its establishment on 14 May 1948, the eve of the British termination of the mandate. That termination of the mandate subsequently led to the first Arab-Israeli war. The subsequent 1949 armistice agreements established Israel's borders over most of the former mandate territory. A further conflict in 1967, the Six-Day War, saw Israel occupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip and establish further settlements there.

Israel has normalised relationships in recent times with some of its Arab neighbours but the Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been an ongoing and seemingly intractable problem. The peace initiatives put forward by both Arab and US Governments in recent decades have failed to advance any recognition of a two-state solution or deal with the issues of the occupied territories. The military muscle provided to Israel, principally by the US, has allowed it to exert a strong military presence in the region. In so doing, it has failed to deal with progressing the issues of the Palestinian question and the Palestinian homeland. Israel has largely carried out discrimination against the Palestinian enclaves in the Gaza Strip and occupied territories. This has only served to increase hardline Arab resistance to the State of Israel. The hardline positions taken by the Israeli Government in enforcing its borders and its internal security have allowed Hamas to claim political support for its ongoing campaign of border and rocket attacks into Israel. The degree to which this activity has the support of the wider Palestinian people is impossible to judge. The actions of fundamentalist Islamic people within Hamas and the Palestinian movement is not. It culminated in the barbarism of 7 December, with the indiscriminate murder of Israeli settlers and the taking of hostages who remain prisoners of Hamas The main thrust of this activity was to develop a regional war drawing in other Arab states in an Arab coalition. The response of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing government to invade Gaza with the stated purpose of annihilating Hamas and dismantling its war machine is also a mission that only serves to strengthen Arab resistance.

The prosecuting of this war has involved the indiscriminate bombing of population centres and refugees in pursuit of Hamas militants. The carnage and destruction are vast and it will take years, perhaps decades, to rebuild the infrastructure. The idea the Palestinian people will forget or forgive in a similar timeline is uncertain, to say the least. The human toll can never be justified in terms of the stated war efforts.

We in Ireland know the destruction of civil conflict. We know the enduring hurt and harm violence causes. We know that ultimately peace cannot be achieved until warring sides agree to sit down and seek a compromise solution. Israel has fought long and hard for recognition as an independent state. The idea that the Palestinian people should not be allowed the same rights is preposterous. That it is the State of Israel which opposed such rights is even more confounding given its genesis. The fact of the matter is that Israel's security cannot be assured in the future without arriving at a peaceful settlement with the Palestinian majority and its people. This also requires a recognition from those allied with Islamic fundamentalism of the right of the State of Israel to exist also. What must be agreed is the recognition on a Palestinian state and its borders and also the rights of its people to have free movement throughout that country and to be given access to other countries where diplomatic relations recognise the rights of such people to travel in and out. The recent actions of Ireland, Spain and Norway to recognise the State of Palestine send a strong message to the international community to back up the previous resolutions of the UN General Assembly. Just as it is unacceptable that some in the Arab world would wish to see solely the destruction of Israel, so too it is unacceptable for the present Israeli Government to adopt a position of no recognition for a future Palestinian state.

War begets war, violence begets violence and the people who suffer most are the general population. They are the ones with the least power, the least influence and the least protection from smart bombs and military might. It is said you cannot kill an idea unless you kill a people. The wilful destruction that those in hardline Arab positions and those in the hardline Israeli Government with to pursue cannot be condoned or understood and they must not be supported. The slaughter of innocent men, women and children on 7 October can never be justified. Nor can the military response of the Israeli Government which at this point has gone far beyond anything to do with the actions of that infamous day.

The Irish people have travelled the road of being subject to imperialism, colonialism and state-enforced discrimination. Despite all of that, our country has arrived at a place of recognition that for peace to be created, fostered and to endure, the recognition of individual rights and histories must be at the forefront of any possible settlement. Despite culture, language, religion and skin tone, the truth of the Palestinian question is that it is a human conflict. Only human recognition, relations and actions can solve it. It is obvious the present actors leading the war on both sides are very unlikely to be the people who will build the peace. That possibly remains a job that the international community at large can achieve and Ireland must remain at the vanguard of those efforts.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan will share time with two other Deputies, although they are not here. We will see what happens.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I will speak in favour of our nation's decision to recognise the right of Palestinians to exist in their own state. In 1980, it was my party that led Ireland to become the first EU member state to declare that a solution to the conflict in the Middle East lay in a two-state solution under which a fully independent Palestine and an independent Israel could coexist.

As time has passed, in particular in recent days, I am encouraged by the words of An Tánaiste, Deputy Martin, who said the recognition of Palestine today is not the end of the process but the beginning. The recognition of Palestine today by Ireland, Norway and Spain may give impetus to ensure a solution can be found to the slaughter that is happening there daily.

It is important to highlight that Ireland's decision today is not misrepresented as a hostile act to the State of Israel. Ireland's acknowledgement today of Palestine's right to exist and the Palestinian people's right to self-determination is not a hostile act against the Israeli Government, as the Foreign Minister has said repeatedly in media at home. Our actions are an endorsement of our position that the solution to this conflict lies in two states, two equals sitting round a table and coming to a peaceful resolution. We know only too well from our own troubled past that hate begets hate and violence begets violence.

The Government in its move today has stated unequivocally that we reject violence, subordination and exclusion and we reject the extremes in Israel and Palestine that caused this conflict and now prolong it. What happened on 7 October is to be condemned unequivocally for its savagery and brutality. What is unfolding before our eyes in Palestine today is military savagery. It is the violent subordination of a generation of Palestinians.

A new pathway is now needed to ensure the international community rallies to endorse the right of Palestinians to self-determination. If our actions today symbolically demonstrate to the Israeli Government that the world is watching, is appalled and wants a peaceful resolution, then it will have served its purpose. Today's decision is not a reward for terrorism, as the Israeli Prime Minister intimated in a recent video statement. Rather, it is a plea to stop the violence, warmongering and retribution. It is a call to a leader who has clearly overstepped and is now subject to action by the ICC to stop the bombing of hospitals, schools and accommodation, the massacre of the innocents and deal with legitimate Palestinian representatives to bring a lasting peace where the young of both sides can coexist. There can be no military solution to this conflict and any further military action needs to be roundly condemned and repudiated utterly.

The question emanating from today is whether this first step by three European nations will trigger momentum across Western Europe for others to follow suit. Initial reactions from Germany and Britain look ominous, but the concession by Emmanuel Macron that the French may be open to reviewing its position is encouraging. After recent strikes in Rafah, President Macron tweeted that he was outraged and called for respect for international law. What better way to demonstrate that outrage than recognising the right to statehood for those aggrieved parties being bombed in makeshift encampments and the displaced Palestinians of Rafah?

There is a degree of unity this evening and a feeling that our Government has done right by us today. Nonetheless, it needs to be said that we are late to the table. Ireland, Norway and Spain are now among 145 nations that recognise the right of the Palestinian state to exist. While that is profoundly welcome, that cannot be the endpoint as the Tánaiste intimated in his speech. We now need to reassess how we do business with the Israeli state and conduct diplomacy with that state. If, as the Tánaiste indicated, and I firmly believe him, this is not the endpoint, we now need to pressure and leverage other EU members to follow suit. The next logical move is to follow through with the review of the EU-Israel association agreement and ensure that repercussions for Israel follow if the bombardment of Gaza continues.

Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh

When they bring a child into the world, every parent does so with the same mixture of hope and trepidation. We have the same hopes and fears as we take that tiny bundle into our arms as we consider the enormous and fragile potential of that human life. We hold our mind's eye the milestones we hope to witness, the graduations, weddings, arrival of grandchildren, skinned knees, lost teeth and broken hearts. We pray in our hearts that we can help them steer that course into adulthood safely and in good health and that we can shelter them from the many threats of the wider world. This is same for me, as an Irish dad, as it is for a mother in Israel or a father in Gaza. We all want the best for our children. We want to protect our children.

We all felt that in the wake of the attacks on 7 October. We felt in some ways the outermost ripples of the shockwaves that convulsed the Israeli people as they saw the bright futures of their children snuffed out in an attack of ferocity and barbarism. We feel it too in the disproportionate and dehumanising response that violates international law and threatens our international rules-based system. We felt it viscerally as we witnessed the horrific scenes in Rafah last Sunday, where we saw parents gathering the body parts of their children. Hopes were shattered, futures exploded and bodies were blown asunder. No parent could watch that without feeling at least a faint echo of that unimaginable loss.

All conflicts end. So too will this one. What shadow will it cast? How will a generation which has been emotionally and physically maimed conceive a pathway to a lasting peace? Who in the tents among the ruins of Rafah can dream of any kind of future for their children? Too long a suffering can make a stone of the heart.

It has long been the view of the Irish people that the only path to peace lies in the two-state solution. We have learned hard lessons from our history about the futility, as Paul Brady put it, of trying to reach the future through the past and trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone. We were isolated in that view when we first put it forward. Now that idea is in the mainstream of international opinion. For there to be a two-state solution, there needs to be two states.

I applaud the decision of the Government today, in tandem with our colleagues in Norway and Spain, and following the lead of many other nations across the world, to officially recognise the State of Palestine. I acknowledge the leadership of the Taoiseach and, in particular, our Tánaiste in his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs in bringing this to pass. I thank them not as a member of the Government, but as a citizen of this Republic. The moral bravery needed to take such a decision should not be underestimated.

In recognising the State of Palestine, we do not erode, diminish or deny the rights of any of the other nations of the world to exist in peace, nor do we support or endorse acts of depravity committed in the so-called service of any flag or nation. It is my firm belief that the long-term security and prosperity of the State of Israel will be enhanced, not eroded, by the recognition of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli ambassador tells us that the recognition of the State of Palestine sends the wrong message. She said, "I don't think that this is the message that Ireland wants to send to the world". I disagree. I think it is precisely the message we want to send the world. It is a message of peace that recognises the common shared humanity of the child born in Gaza and the child born in Jerusalem, and the equal intrinsic value of both of those human lives and their equal rights to hope, dream and aspire to a better future where they can live in peace and security.

Martin Luther King told us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. Sometimes when the curve of that arc is at its aphelion, at its furthest from its anchor point, it can feel very hard to believe in that upward trajectory, but I say to the people of Palestine that in recognising your place among the nations of the world this is some small effort from a small nation with its own history of repression to influence the course of history for the better. It is our fervent hope here that it brings you hope in this darkest of times.

Deputy Patricia Ryan

What a long-awaited and momentous day to finally have the State of Palestine formally recognised by Ireland. Iontach ar fad. Finally, the voices of those who marched, protested and petitioned in their thousands for international law to be upheld and shouted loud and long for Palestine and her people to be recognised have been heard. Ireland and the Irish fought our own struggles with oppression and occupation and have always had a unique affinity with Palestine. We understand their struggles and their longing for the land to be free, independent and sovereign.

However, recognition is not enough. How can it be when, as we stand in this House, the people of Gaza are under siege? Gaza and her people are suffering a genocide in full sight of the world. Rafah, where Israel ordered people to flee to safety, is burning and being obliterated by Israeli bombs raining down indiscriminately on tens of thousands of displaced people. Families and children are being blown apart. Hospitals, doctors and paramedics have been deliberately targeted, killed and destroyed. Humanitarian aid has been blocked. This is Palestine's future. It is shameful. If the bombs do not kill people, disease and starvation will.

How much more must they endure? Israel's actions must be recognised as gross violations of international law and it must be held accountable for them. The ICC decision must be upheld.

Ireland may be a small island but our voice is loud on the world stage and our influence is far greater. We have led the world in peace for our own island and it is time for us to do so again in order that Palestine and her people can be free to enjoy a lasting peace. It is time for this Government to use this momentous day as the first step and to use its influence at a European and international level to bring pressure to bear for the achievement of a lasting ceasefire and an end to the senseless oppression and loss of life. Let us be very clear, no matter what Benjamin Netanyahu claims, bombing Rafah is not "a mistake". It is the deliberate slaughter of the innocent and Israel must be held accountable for it. Remember this - all eyes are now on Rafah.

Deputy Martin Browne

I welcome the Palestinian ambassador to the House and those who were in the Gallery earlier. I also want to thank those who have supported the Palestinian people down through the decades and are continuing to do so. Sadly, the recognition of the State of Palestine has been a long time coming. It is ten years since the Dáil unanimously passed a Sinn Féin motion calling for this to happen. That delay and the reluctance to take action in good time has seen the people of Palestine continue to be oppressed, occupied and subjected to a system of apartheid. This has been facilitated by an international hesitance to call Israeli Governments out on their atrocities, which have resulted most recently in the deaths of 36,000 children and adults, 189 UNRWA staff and 262 aid workers. Then there was last Sunday's indiscriminate slaughter in Rafah, which the Israeli Government in its moral vacuum dismissed as a mere mistake or error. How dare it. This was mass murder and nothing else and it was seen by the world.

The Israeli Government acts with such impunity and treats its atrocities so dismissively because many of the international community's leading countries have failed to hold Israel to account for its breaches of international law. This inaction has emboldened the Israeli Government in its quest to undermine any notion of a two-state solution. It continues to break international law and destroy lives, safe in the knowledge that the standards to which others are held do not apply to it. The Israeli Government has dismissed the ruling of the ICJ to halt its offensive in Rafah. The EU has also failed. Ursula von der Leyen provides Israel with cover, while a review of the EU-Israeli association agreement remains undone. Ultimately, the Israeli Government has shown by its actions that it is not interested in a peace settlement. By recognising Palestine as a state, we want it to have the same standing as the nations of the world in its quest for independence, a two-state solution, self-determination and ultimately, a lasting peace. We must go further. The Government must enact the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill, the occupied territories Bill and join the ICJ case against Israel. We must use all diplomatic measures to end all military action and end the occupation of the state we have formally recognised. World leaders must recognise Palestine as a state, deserving of the same rights as all others. Those resisting this must stop standing by as genocide is perpetrated in front of a global audience. It is there now, through social media, for the whole world to see. Ultimately, the call made by so many campaigners across this country and the world has been heard. It is now time for the Palestinian people to be heard and we pledge our continued support for them.

Deputy Alan Farrell

I have been somewhat reluctant to contribute to this debate, not because of my concern about the reaction of my constituents but because the mere mention, or appearance, of taking sides is often met with scorn or worse, the utterly corrupted idea of antisemitism. That should not be the case. We must be confident in calling out that which is wrong. The taking of life is wrong. The taking of life in the name of a religion is wrong. The taking of life to expand one's territory is wrong. The taking of life to take back one's territory is wrong. Everything about this conflict, which did not start on 7 October, is wrong.

This is a House of democracy. Proportional representation with a single transferable vote is perhaps the truest form of democracy and we have enjoyed that for over 100 years of democratic peace in this State. How lucky we are to have done so. The Palestinian territories and the region have not been so fortunate. I abhor the killing of innocents and as I conveyed to the Israeli ambassador last year, the response to barbarism should not be more barbarism. What terrorists inflicted on the innocents of this region is barbarism and what the Israeli Government has done in response to that terrorism is also barbarism. Illegal settlements, recognised as such by the United Nations, but only in name and funding and special arrangements by certain countries nearby and across the Atlantic perpetuate the cycle of expansion and violence. In the last few months we have watched in horror the indiscriminate slaughter of tens of thousands of innocents - women, men and so many children - and the destruction of communities, schools, and places of worship. I have watched on television Israeli settlers destroy convoys of aid. I have seen images of kilometres and kilometres of aid trucks waiting to cross the border. I have read of the cutting off of power and water supplies, the blowing up of power stations and destruction of the very capacity of Gaza to sustain life. All the while, the occupants of Rafah starve. Two million people are driven from their homes, corralled into camps and then targeted from the sky. They are indiscriminately shot while holding flags. They are crying out for help on our phones and on our television sets every day. What the world is witnessing is the eradication of a people.

The recognition of the State of Palestine is the very least that we, as a State, should do. The vast majority of countries, 145 nations of this planet, recognise the State of Palestine. We cannot have peace in the region without a peace process. We cannot allow a corrupted Government to exterminate the Palestinian people. I am not a religious man. I am a very tolerant person. I respect the right of others to practice their faith, once it does not impact upon my lack of faith. I want to live in a society that respects the Jewish faith and the Muslim faith, just as I do. I respect the right of members of the Jewish faith to live free in their country of Israel and I equally respect the right of members of the Islamic faith to live free in theirs. It is on that basis that I share the Government and Opposition position that we cannot have a two-state solution if we do not recognise two states.

Ordinary Israeli citizens deserve the same rights and freedoms as ordinary Palestinian people. I asked the Israeli Government, through its ambassador, to show restraint in October because like so many in this House, I knew from the many decades of this conflict that the response from the Israel Defense Forces would be severe. Now, I absolutely demand that this war stops. Stop the slaughter of innocents. We in Ireland, and in the European Union, must demand that Israel stops. It has clearly failed to do so and therefore, we must treat it as we would any other state that defies international law and the will of the people of our Union. We must end trade. We must sanction those responsible and we must not just call for peace but arrange a suitable peace which can last and protect innocent life throughout the region.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak in this very important debate. While many people in the House have said that this has come too late and should have come earlier, the fact is that it has come. It is the right decision and it had to be taken now, in view of the happenings over the past six or seven months. The situation was not started by the Israelis but it was continued by the Israelis. As someone who tried to use his small influence with both sides in the past, when I was Chairman of the European affairs committee, I invited the Israeli ambassador and the Palestinian chargé d'affaires to a meeting to discuss their various differences.

They did and they were amicable and respectful towards one another and the meeting went well. Then came Operation Cast Lead and everything was reversed. Then came the recriminations against the Israelis, including in this House. Then there was the isolation of the Israeli position and the reaction among the fundamentalists in Israel and we are where we are today as a result of those happenings combined. No one action or move by anyone was the total and absolute cause but things degenerated rapidly and that is what happens in a situation where nothing happens. The vacuum is filled by people who have no regard for peace, human life or democracy. This can happen on both sides and it has.

We should know about it in this country more than any other because we have had our own experiences in the past. As the Queen once said, it might have been better if some of the things we did to one another had not been done at all. When all is said and done, something needs to be left on which to build a peace process. I and several others are of the opinion that a platform was needed in the past number of years where the opposing sides could present their grievances. The United Nations should be that but for various reasons I will not go into, it was not seen in that way by the Israelis. The situation will still be fragile now. From here on in, we the outsiders in this House and in houses across Europe and the globe, must do everything possible to encourage the coming together of people who have been at one another's throats for thousands of years, not only hundreds of years, but for millennia, not decades. The fact remains that it must be worked on.

The recognition of the State of Palestine by three European governments on one day is important. It is an indication. One has to hark back to our own days in that situation when the leaders of this country went abroad to encourage recognition of the State of Ireland. It was very well done and it was seen as important then. Several people were sent to several parts of the globe. The result was that we got that kind of recognition at the end of the day. Terrible, unforgivable atrocities were committed by both sides up until very recently. However, at the end of the day there has to be some method of talking to one another, establishing bridges and trying to create the footpath that will lead to something better. The fact that it has been ignored for so long does not mean it is impossible. I remember meeting the Palestinians in Palestine, in various locations, and the Israelis in the past, as did several Members of this House. That led us to understand the distance between the two sides, their inability to trust one another and their suspicion of one another. That has to go if we are to move forward from where we are now.

It is reminiscent of the peace process in this country when the leading protagonists were arrayed against one another, as it were. At the beginning there was more emphasis on the differences between them, but eventually that led to the situation and the recognition that there was more in their common interests and the common good than could be ignored. At the end of the day, it was frivolously suggested that some of the protagonists had seen God. They had, impossible as it may have been to visualise. They saw that 30 years of appalling atrocities in this country on behalf of the people in pursuit of peace and a correct ideal had achieved nothing. The only thing it achieved was the death of everyone associated and some who were not associated at all and countless innocent victims, including children. We and they learned a lesson and they saw God. It is now time for the people across the globe in relation to the Palestinian-Israeli situation to see God as well and to recognise that what has gone on before is not acceptable. There is no sense in saying it is or suggesting that a certain amount is allowed in certain cases and retaliation is understandable. Retaliation, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, will only bring one thing, a lot of people with poor sight and no teeth. We should never allow ourselves to go down that road. Recrimination and retaliation are unacceptable. The time has come to put the building blocks together, to be reasonable towards one another, to recognise we come from different situations and to try to put in place the necessary measures that will lead to something better than we have looked at for the past 50 or 60 years and more.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Harkin is not with us. Deputies Pringle, Connolly and Collins are sharing time.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

All eyes are on Rafah as we are forced to watch in horror the utter brutality of Israel's attack on the Palestinian people. The level of bloodshed and devastation the Palestinian people have had to endure, especially in recent months, is unimaginable. Israel's bombing of a camp of tents of displaced people is indefensible. The images and stories coming out of Rafah are truly gut-wrenching. What is worse is that the international community has allowed this to happen. What is happening in Rafah is happening because Israel has not been punished for the previous atrocities it has committed against Palestinians. Israel has been protected by the US and the EU while it continues with murderous invasions. Israel has been facilitated and even armed by the US and the EU to carry out this genocide.

The recognition of the State of Palestine is a symbolic gesture but it is an empty one if we continue to be complicit in Israel's genocide of Palestine. Ireland is Israel's fourth biggest market for all kinds of goods and Ireland's restricted exports to Israel of restricted dual-use goods that have potential military purposes grew almost sevenfold last year from €11 million to more than €70 million. How can we allow this? How can we claim to care about the Palestinian people while at the same time arming those who are causing the devastation and destruction? It is truly sickening to think about.

The Government has continued to allow the shipment of dual-use goods to Israel and yet wants a pat on the back, simply for recognising the State of Palestine and its people. We should have recognised Palestine decades ago. Most countries across the globe already recognised the State of Palestine. We were an outlier, along with some other EU countries, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, in not recognising the State of Palestine until now. Recognising statehood is the least we can do at this point. What Palestine needs now is action. The people of Palestine desperately need the Government to stop facilitating this genocide by allowing US aircraft to pass through Shannon and to end its trade relationship with Israel. It is time to take meaningful action and ensure that we play no part in aiding Israel's apartheid regime. In his opening statement, the Taoiseach said there is an onus on every country and on the European Union to use every lever at our disposal to bring about a ceasefire. It is no longer enough to just condemn or be repulsed. All I ask is that the Taoiseach stay true to his words. He can start by passing the Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024 that will be debated in the Seanad tomorrow. The Bill looks to put restrictions on the transport and export of weapons through the State to Israel, including when they are coming from or going to a country which also exports weapons. If the Taoiseach was honest in his opening statement, he should have no issue with restricting the transport of weapons to Israel. I look forward to hearing the Minister's response on this.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this. I have just over three minutes so I want to be as precise as possible.

First, I welcome the Palestinian ambassador, who in recent months has acted with utter professionalism in the face of genocide and the slaughter of her people. I have found her at every stage to be utterly professional while full of humanity in contrast to the spokespeople for the Israeli Government who on occasions have been given free rein on our media and exercised their right, which I question seriously, to push propaganda and a particular version of events.

We are here today and I welcome it as a momentous day. As I said earlier, it has come much later than I would have liked but it has come and it is a day to be recognised. I thank the Government for doing that and for raising the Palestinian flag. It follows the General Assembly resolution of 10 May, which determined that Palestine is now qualified for membership of the UN; at which 143 countries were in favour, nine against and 25 abstained.

I would have liked today, in addition to the good news and positive designation of the recognition of Palestine as a state that we would follow that with the actions we will take because otherwise, they are just sweet words that are worth nothing. As we talk here now, I understand from news reports that there has been a further bombing on a tented community. People who have already been displaced and sought refuge in tents are being bombed as we speak. I have come near the stage where I have no words left. I am tired of the sweet words and no action. We are constantly waiting for Europe and Europe has distinguished itself by standing in solidarity with the Government which, through its military, is carrying out a genocide. Von der Leyen, in the name of Europe, said we stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel and our Government is willing to vote for her to continue in her position. I would ask the Minister of State to reflect on that. How is that possible if our words are going to mean something? Then there is the occupied territories Bill that has been in abeyance since 2018, which was tabled by the courageous Senator Black, as well as other legislation. We have the trading agreement still in existence, through Europe. Europe and Israel are still trading and we keep saying we have to wait but we cannot wait any longer because we will have nobody alive in Palestine. I would love to throw down these words and I wish the Government would throw down their scripts and stand up as human beings and say “This is utterly wrong”. This cannot go on. This is not self defence. This is complete slaughter of the innocent and we are part of that if we do not take action. I have here a response to questions I have tabled on what we are exporting. On dual-use export authorisations, in one year, we have gone from €7.7 million in exports to Israel to €70.4 million in one year. Can the Minister of State explain that to me? What is behind that jump? If we are seriously interested in calling Israel to account for its slaughter and for its genocide, how could we be continuing to do trade with that country?

I will finish by saying that I will have nothing to do with antisemitic comments. They are not the same at all as calling out the Israeli Government for what it is doing.

Deputy Joan Collins

I also welcome the Palestinian ambassador here today and everyone who was in the Gallery earlier. I will start by sending solidarity to the 1 million Palestinians besieged by the Israeli onslaught in Rafah. Ireland and the world is standing in shock and horror at what we are seeing unfold. Now we must come together to force Israel to stop this genocide.

It was a proud day last week when Ireland stood in front of the world along with Spain and Norway and announced we would recognise Palestinian statehood. We will not just be recognising the Palestinian state; we will be recognising the 70 years of struggle by the Palestinian people to hold on to their right for justice, self-determination and peace. I have seen it suggested that somehow by recognising Palestine we are rewarding Hamas. By recognising Palestine we are showing that we will not reward genocide. More than 36,000 people have died since Israel began its military campaign last October. It has attempted to drive Palestinians from Gaza by inflicting terror, starvation and destruction on them. They are attempting to wipe out Gaza from the face of the earth. Recognising Palestine is a small show of defiance in the face of this genocide.

What Hamas did on 7 October was horrific and what Israel is doing to the Palestinian people now is genocide. I welcome that the international court has named Netanyahu, the Israeli Minister for Defence, Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, for war crimes.

We will never know the true death toll from this attack on Gaza. Some 31 of its 36 hospitals have been damaged or destroyed. The World Health Organization has recorded over 890 attacks on health facilities since Israel began its current campaign. There are reports of bodies being found in a mass grave at Nasser Hospital with their hands tied behind their backs. Israel has systematically destroyed Gaza’s ability to count its own dead.

Last year saw an increase of nearly 600% in Irish exports which have dual military and civilian use to Israel. Many Members have mentioned this today. Dual-use products made up 13% of Irish exports to Israel in 2023. That compares with 0% to 1% on average to other countries. Every year, Ireland pays the Israeli Government-owned weapons company Aeronautics Defence Industries $250,000 to maintain drones we have bought from them. This is the same company that is supplying aerial vehicles and drones being used to kill Palestinian people in Gaza. We have spent €14.7 million on military imports from Israel over the last decade. Israel is now Ireland’s fourth biggest market for all types of goods with sales mostly of computer circuits growing to €4.8 billion. There is no doubt our continued trade with Israel, especially military imports, is fuelling this genocide. This will be remembered for what it is: a genocide facilitated, supported and supplied by the West. We will be remembered for how we react. We are still fuelling this genocide. These exports must stop. We must divest from Israel. We must implement sanctions now. The world must force Israel to the table to negotiate a meaningful and lasting peace. We need a State-led campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions until there is a deal for peace, independence and self-determination for all Palestinians. I believe the Israeli people can play a role in this and remove Netanyahu and this Government. Get your family members home and negotiate peace.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

What value is given to life? If recognising Palestine saves one life, is it not worth it? History is a funny thing when you look at it one way. When you look back it is something that is taken for granted. When Hitler was on his reign, the media said that humanity would never see something like this again. Then we had Rwanda when the Hutus and the Tutsis slaughtered one another and turned on one another’s families. We said we would never see that again. Then we had the war in Ukraine. People said we would never see that again. Now we have Israel and this war.

God rest my father, he would be 113 years old today. Born in 1911. How many wars would he have seen had he lived? He is dead since 2009. It is becoming more and more frequent every decade. And it is coming closer and closer to home, which is a very scary thought. I see people fighting every day of their lives. One person comes to mind because we are going to do a fundraiser for her this weekend. Carol Liston O'Connor is fighting for her life. She has five children. She has motor neurone disease and is fighting for her life to spend one more day with her children. Yet every week and every month, we are looking we are looking at people being killed needlessly; every day; every hour and every second.

Then you see people at war who have no respect even for the humanitarian people who go out to try to help people and feed them. Then they dismiss it and say, “Oh, I am sorry about that. We killed 34 people”. What type of people are we dealing with who have no respect for life?

What is it all about? Greed, money, minerals under the ground, oil, or whatever. What is it they are actually fighting for? Is it more land? Is it more power? They have no respect for the same people they say they represent.

I have one thing to say to those people, which is that we will all go into the ground in the same box. There is an old saying in this country: there is no hitch on a hearse. No matter what you do in this life you should respect people, regardless of their religion or race and, hopefully, they will respect you for whatever you follow in life. When we do come to the end of our days and when we go into the ground for our next reward, people should be able to say that we tried to help people in life and respected them. There is very little respect left in the world when we see the number of wars that are going on at the moment.

If I could hope for one thing, it would be that people could finally learn that life is such a precious thing. Our ancestors lived long lives and they worked hard. Now, people think they can end a life just like that. They do not have any respect for anyone’s life. Any person who does not have respect does not even come into my thoughts. The world is becoming a horrible place when a handful of people dictate to the world, dictate wars and bring hardship on people. My message to the people who are waging war just to get more power, land or whatever, is that there is no hitch on a hearse. When they go to their eternal reward, they can take none of this with them. They should use their time on this earth to help people and not cause harm.

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

I welcome the Palestinian head of mission, who is soon to be the Palestinian ambassador to the House. We look forward to working well with her over many years to come.

Our recognition of the State of Palestine today fits three fundamental purposes, and indeed many more. First, it makes clear our view that it is time that Palestine takes its place among the nations of the world and that its right to self-determination, self-government, territorial integrity and sovereignty must now be vindicated. Second, it is an expression of our belief in the equal right to self-determination, peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The aspirations of both peoples must be afforded equal legitimacy, based on a two-state solution that delivers a just and sustainable peace. Third, it is a reiteration of our fundamental conviction that the only just and sustainable peaceful solution for both Palestinians and Israelis is the implementation of a two-state solution, ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

I thank Deputies for their contributions to this significant debate. There is widespread support for this, not just here in this House, but in general across the Irish nation today, which can see that the Dáil is united on this issue on their behalf. There is general agreement in this House for the recognition of the State of Palestine, which the Government announced last week and formalised earlier today. The recognition of the State of Palestine has been discussed in this House on many occasions in recent years. It has been mandated by the Dáil since 2014. It was included in my own party's election manifesto in advance of the last election, and it was included in the programme for Government in 2020, subject to the discussions in forming the Government at that time.

The recognition of the State of Palestine is a show of solidarity, support and hope for a peaceful future. It is the acknowledgement that the Palestinian people have the right to determine their own destiny. It is a symbol of the bonds of friendship between the two peoples in a time of immense pain and suffering. We in Ireland know what it is like to have such difficulties in a divided country and we have a shared DNA with them when it comes to that particular issue. That is why the people of Ireland have a very clear view on Palestine and Israel and they know who has been suffering the most throughout the years. That is where the hearts and minds of the Irish people are firmly based, and thank God for that.

The Government has worked closely with Norway and Spain over recent months to co-ordinate recognition, standing up for the two-state solution and a future based on peace and security, as well as for the Palestinian people. Now is the right time to take this step and it is extremely positive that we are able to do so with like-minded countries. These countries, like Ireland, have a strong history of a commitment to a two-state solution and to a lasting peace in the Middle East based on security, prosperity and freedom. Some people might have thought this was a difficult time because of the troubles and incessant killing that have taken place over the past seven or eight months. Yet, for us not to proceed with what was in our programme for Government, because of the current violence would have been to take a backseat in light of the violence that is going on there. The Government and the people of Ireland, maybe now more than ever in the middle of this conflict, think that this is actually a more appropriate time to make this statement.

Ireland's most pressing concern remains the horrendous violence being carried out in the Gaza Strip. We have seen in recent days the further devastation caused by the Israeli military actions in Rafah. It is appalling to see the killings of civilians, including children, in a place where they were seeking refuge from imaginable horror. Many Deputies have referred to this during the debate. The debate has focused on the innocent children, the mutilation of bodies, and the destruction and total disregard for human life. It touches the core of every decent person on the planet, and we share that here in Ireland.

We need an immediate ceasefire and an end to the killing, which has been a daily feature for the past seven months. We need the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Right now, we need a massive increase in the volume of humanitarian aid reaching the people of Gaza safely and unhindered. People in Gaza need water, food, fuel and medicine. They need it urgently and they need it today. We have heard repeatedly from UN agencies and international organisations that this simply is not happening. The situation continues to deteriorate. Israeli strikes continue to kill civilians. The people in Gaza still do not have access to adequate food and water and the UN says that northern Gaza is now experiencing famine. We have seen crossings being closed and aid being disrupted and this must end. Israel must ensure the full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.

Ireland has long supported the Palestinian people via Irish aid. Earlier this year, when the Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, visited to Dublin, the Tánaiste announced €20 million for UNRWA. That agency plays a part that is vital to the region and I am pleased that many donors that suspended their funding have now restored it. I was very pleased personally to attend a meeting of the foreign affairs development committee at EU level recently, where we put pressure on the European Commission itself to restore the funding it had partially suspended. It is important that this must continue, but that is no good if we cannot get unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid.

We will continue to support civil society, peace-building and education. Ireland is helping to build a future for Palestinians beyond the current conflict, because someday the conflict will end. What happens after the end of the conflict is so important, so we must work on a long-term peace agreement. We will need peace to be sustained when it does eventually come, even though it might not look or feel like it will happen here today. However, the day will come, and I am confident about that.

The Government's recognition of the State of Palestine forms only part of our policy to support the Palestinian people in their hour of most need of help. Nevertheless, it is a significant step. We can see that from the reaction of some other countries to us, Norway and Spain on this matter over the past day or so. Be that as it may, we will take that on the chin and what we are doing is important. This has been Ireland’s long-standing policy and the future of the region includes a Palestinian state based on discussions that happened in 1967.

The current crisis, however, has brought the future of Palestine into the spotlight of international attention. It is positive that the Arab states have come together to present a peace vision. We need proposals and solutions that have buy-in from the region, which is an area where previous initiatives have failed.

This cannot be done in isolation without the support of surrounding countries, without the support of Ireland and various other countries and without the support of the United Nations. It is important to put on record that we were very pleased with the vote at the United Nations in favour of this issue recently. We have been to the fore in advocating for a European Union position and we believe our work is having a positive impact. If we turn the clock back to last summer, if we had raised the issues then that we are raising now, nobody would have listened. We have been consistent and not a lone voice but a strong voice, even though we are a small nation. People are listening and our view is getting traction at EU level, which is very important.

The Government's position remains unchanged, as I keep reiterating. It is a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine that delivers essential security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. I have no doubt that people in Israel want this to end as well, notwithstanding the views and actions of their government. It is important that they have a general election sooner rather than later, where the people of Israel can express their views on what is going on. That is particularly important.

The recognition of Palestine is not an end in itself. It marks a new chapter in Ireland's relationship with the Palestinian people. I welcome the representative from Palestine to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery for the debate. We are playing our part to strive towards peace in the region. Everybody knows that Ireland has a long history of supporting UN peacekeeping missions. When we eventually get to a peaceful solution, I look forward to Irish soldiers being out there on peacekeeping missions in the decades ahead. Although it does not seem today that peace will come, it will happen. I know that people from the Irish Army will be out there, making sure that peace holds for decades to come. That is what it will take.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Sin críochnaíonn na ráitis. That concludes the statements. I acknowledge the presence of the soon-to-be-appointed ambassador from Palestine, the first ever. She has sat through this discussion for almost four hours, which is not easy to do given what is ongoing. I commend her on that.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 28 May 2024

Ireland's Recognition of the State of Palestine: Statements

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 28 May 2024