Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 July 2012
30 Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans, if any, to exert pressure on Israel to remove its illegal settlements and end its military occupation of Palestinian territories. [36486/12]
View answer32 Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he intends to intervene in the continued Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories. [36518/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 32 together.
Ireland, along with our EU partners, have consistently asserted that the long term solution to the Middle East conflict, and the only way to secure the needs and interests of Israelis, Palestinians and others in the region is a solution based on two states, including a sovereign Palestinian state, and thus the ending of the Israeli occupation. Successive Irish Governments have also consistently stated that settlements are illegal under international law and are an obstacle to peace. The relentless construction of settlements in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) is undermining the viability of a future Palestinian state. This is unambiguous EU policy, and a message that Ireland and our EU partners relay to the Israeli authorities in every meeting. The settlement project is incompatible with a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, and with the end of the occupation.
Recognising that developments on the ground are threatening to make a two-state solution impossible, the Foreign Affairs Council in May adopted Conclusions that restated, and in many respects advanced, EU positions on issues such as the Palestinian depopulation of Area C and evictions and demolitions in East Jerusalem. The Conclusions set out the remedial action which we wish to see, primarily from Israel. Clearly the Council will have to continue to press on these issues.
The occupation will only come to an end as a result of a negotiated settlement between the two sides. It is in the interests of Israel, Palestinians, and the wider region, that a political compromise is found on the basis of a two-state solution. I would strongly encourage Israel to recognise that the window of opportunity for the two-state solution is rapidly closing, and that its own interests are best served by engaging meaningfully and genuinely in peace talks.
