Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 March 2022
76. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government’s response to a report by an organisation (details supplied) into the crime of apartheid by Israel; the actions that he is prepared to take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15351/22]
View answerIn February, Amnesty International published its report, Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime against Humanity. This follows a number of publications from other human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch, Al-Haq and B'Tselem. There is also support from organisations such as Trócaire, Concern, Christian Aid and virtually every other NGO in Ireland and internationally. Will the Minister now accept the compelling evidence presented by this report and others that Israel is an apartheid state?
Amnesty International is a respected NGO and I value the role it and other civil society organisations play on these issues. The assertions in the report echo those we have seen in a number of recent similar reports. These reports undoubtedly raise difficult questions for the Israeli Administration.
Ireland’s position on these matters is, and will continue to be, based on international law, including international human rights law and Israel’s obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention as the occupying power in the occupied Palestinian territory, and on the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.
Ireland’s priority is not to focus on language for the sake of it but to try to find a way to change reality on the ground. Therefore, Ireland has been consistently forthright in expressing concern regarding the unequal treatment of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. Ireland will continue to raise regularly our concerns regarding discriminatory practices towards the Palestinian people directly with the Israeli authorities, including during visits to the region, as well as at EU and UN level. I have visited the region on five occasions and have raised these issues bilaterally with my Israeli counterparts during those visits.
Ireland has also been proactive in consistently highlighting these issues, including demolitions and settlement expansion, at the UN Security Council during our current term. Ireland has maintained a strong approach at monthly meetings on the situation in the Middle East, most recently at the council meeting on 22 March, and has raised particular issues of concern, including the designation of Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organisations and housing plans by Israel in East Jerusalem.
We will continue to study the recommendations and conclusions of the Amnesty International report and will use it to influence the approach that we take towards trying to protect and encourage a peace process that can deliver a two-state solution, which is ultimately our priority.
It is not a matter of using language for the sake of using language. Words have meaning and meaning must lead to action. The reports that have been published are also echoed by a recent report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories, Michael Lynk. To use his language, "Israel has imposed on Palestine an apartheid reality in a post-apartheid world." He goes on to say that "this system of alien rule has been established with the intent to maintain the domination of one racial-national-ethnic group over another", which is apartheid. International law is not an à la carte menu to pick and choose from. We have to stand up for international law no matter where in the world. We must call out breaches of that law and hold the perpetrators to account. Language is everything. Will the Minister use the word "apartheid" to describe the actions of Israel?
I have not used the word "apartheid" and I have explained why. We have had a detailed debate on this issue and this report in this House. The Deputy was part of that discussion. The position I outlined then is the same as I have outlined today. Our approach is about bringing about change on the ground, helping Palestinians and holding the Israeli Administration to account for the decisions it takes. We have to build international consensus around that. That is what I am focused on trying to do. The Deputy seems to want Ireland to move into a space where we will be effectively on our own and to use language no other country in the world is using. He seems to think that this will start a domino effect and will change things. If I thought that was the case, I would be looking at it seriously. However, I believe the way to do this is to try to build consensus within the EU and the UN and to try to build groupings of countries that can genuinely put pressure on to force change on issues such as the settlements, forced evictions and settler violence which are undermining and eroding the basis for a peace process. That is what we have been trying to do.
The Minister has also said that to use the word "apartheid" to describe these actions would not be helpful. I am not sure who he believes it would not be helpful to because it certainly would be helpful to Palestinians who have been calling out this apartheid regime for decades. I am not sure how many more decades the Minister is prepared to sit and wait before taking on the illegal actions of Israel. This report and numerous others have called for action. The use of the word "apartheid" is one but there are others that need to be taken not just by the UN Security Council, but also by this State. These include boycotting goods illegally imported from the occupied territories, undertaking arms embargoes and a whole suite of others. However, the Minister is prepared to sit by and allow breaches of international law to go unchecked.
Yet again, the Deputy has outlined a whole series of actions he says we should implement but that we cannot. We do not sell arms to Israel, so how can we stop? The Deputy is calling for an arms embargo. Ireland cannot impose an arms embargo on Israel but he calls for one anyway because it makes for a good sound bite. He wants to impose trade restrictions on Israel. Ireland cannot do that. A number of Attorney Generals have now confirmed that to me and I have confirmed that to the Deputy but he cannot accept that because it makes for a good sound bite and he wishes to say it anyway.
There are many legal opinions to the contrary.
We are focused on what we actually can do to try to bring about change, to support Palestinians and to try to support the progress of a peace process that has gone backwards in recent years. We are doing this through diplomatic engagement, visits and constant vocal objections to what we see as breaches of international law. We use every international forum to do that. That is what we will continue to do.
