Pat Rabbitte
Question:34 Deputy Pat Rabbitte asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his proposals to bring an end to the siege of Gaza in order to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction material. [5228/09]
View answerThursday, 12 February 2009
Questions (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
Brian O'Shea
Question:37 Deputy Brian O’Shea asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on reports of the attacks on the integrity of United Nations storage areas with regard to its UNWRA warehouses in the Gaza Strip. [5203/09]
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Pat Breen
Question:48 Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if there is an agreed EU response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza following the ceasefire; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5233/09]
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Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Question:53 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he is requesting that the EU take to ensure that all the crossings to Gaza are fully open to enable humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials to enter unimpeded. [5241/09]
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Mary Upton
Question:61 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the guarantees secured with regard to border crossings in order to secure the safe passage of goods and materials essential for the reconstruction of Gaza. [5201/09]
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Bernard J. Durkan
Question:69 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action he has taken, alone or together with his EU and UN colleagues, to bring about an improvement in the situation in Gaza with particular reference to the humanitarian needs of the people there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5280/09]
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Seymour Crawford
Question:70 Deputy Seymour Crawford asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is satisfied that the present EU structure of which he is part has sufficient involvement in the recent Gaza conflict; his views on whether a more permanent structure within the EU dealing with foreign affairs would have had a more meaningful response to this tragic crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4751/09]
View answerCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Question:76 Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has inquired into or can confirm that during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas beginning on 19 June 2008 there was a diminution of mortar and rocket firing out of Gaza into Israel and Hamas itself fired no rockets or mortars at all until Israel broke the ceasefire on 4 November 2008 by entering Gaza and killing six members of Hamas. [5240/09]
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 34, 37, 48, 53, 61, 69, 70 and 76 together.
While I welcome the fact that the unilateral ceasefires announced by Israel and Hamas on 18 January continue to hold, I am deeply concerned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains extremely serious and that no durable ceasefire has yet been put in place. The immediate priority continues to be the opening of all border crossings into Gaza to enable urgently needed humanitarian supplies as well as materials for reconstruction to transit.
While there was an initial increase in the flow of humanitarian aid passing into Gaza after the ceasefire went into effect, it is clear that the volume of such aid remains inadequate and it is imperative that Israel does everything possible to facilitate the UN-led relief and rehabilitation operation underway. This is a point which I have emphasised in all recent contacts with the Israeli Government, including with Israeli Education Minister, Yuli Tamir, whom I met in Dublin on 20 January. The EU Presidency, Commission and HR/SG Solana have jointly written to the Israeli government along the same lines.
The EU remains the largest collective donor to the Palestinian people, with some €90 million alone having been contributed by the European Commission and Member States since the start of the crisis. Ireland has already contributed €500,000 in humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and, together with other donors, is anxious to continue assisting the humanitarian and reconstruction effort in any way we can. I understand that the Egyptian Government is planning to hold a Gaza donors' conference in Cairo next month. Ireland will obviously be represented at any such conference.
There was a most unwelcome development on 3 and 5 February when armed Hamas policemen broke into UN warehouses in Gaza city at gunpoint and stole humanitarian aid, including several thousand blankets and several hundred food packages. I am glad that these aid supplies have since been returned to the UN and that UNRWA has resumed its aid distribution as before. I wholeheartedly support the demand by John Ging, the Irishman who is Director of UN operations in Gaza, that the integrity of the international aid effort be secured.
Looking further ahead, Israel must move to end its economic blockade and reopen the crossings into Gaza on a regular and predictable basis. The EU stands ready to reactivate its border monitoring mission at the Rafah crossing point and has discussed extending this mission to facilitate the reopening of Gaza. It is also clear that concerted international efforts will be required to end the smuggling of arms and components of arms into Gaza.
The EU, under both the former French and current Czech Presidencies, has played an effective role throughout the Gaza crisis in leading efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire and address the serious humanitarian situation. There is, I believe, a growing willingness within the Union to enhance the EU's already constructive role to date through exercising its political influence — as the largest trading partner of Israel, and the largest aid donor to the Palestinian people — and assume a more prominent role in Middle East peace efforts. The desire for such a stronger engagement by the EU was clearly communicated to me during my recent visit to the region, when I visited Syria, Lebanon and the UAE from 1-5 February.
It is a matter of record that during the period from 18 June up until 4 November 2008, when the Israeli army killed six Hamas militants just inside Gaza, there was a dramatic reduction in rockets and mortars being fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel. Furthermore, it would appear that groups other than Hamas may have been responsible for shelling during this period of relative calm. Large-scale and indiscriminate launching of rockets by Palestinian militants against Israeli civilians resumed following the Israeli military action on 4 November, and intensified after the final breakdown of the ceasefire on 19 December. The breakdown of the ceasefire after 19 December led to appalling consequences for the people of Gaza.
Question No. 35 answered with Question No. 18.