I thank you for the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. The intensified violence in Israel over the past few days which has left at least 18 Palestinians dead and approximately 800 injured has focused attention once again on the plight of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories.
While the particular incident which has led to this upsurge in violence — the massacre of eight Palestinian workers in Tel Aviv on Sunday — appears to have been the work of one, probably deranged, individual, the other casualties have been the victims of the Israeli Government's "iron fist" security policies which have left more than 650 Palestinian civilians dead and tens of thousands wounded since December 1987.
Unfortunately it is only in the aftermath of particular horrific incidents, such as those at the weekend, that the eyes of the world focus on the activities of the Israeli security forces. For too long, western Governments have been prepared to turn a blind eye to the systematic killing of civilians, the use of live ammunition against unarmed crowds, torture, beatings, brutality and illegal detentions. In December last, Amnesty International produced a report which highlighted many of the abuses by Israeli security forces, particularly in the occupied territories. The report which they produced in their Focus magazine in December 1989 pointed out that they had repeatedly expressed concern about violations of human rights committed by Israeli forces in responses to the Intifada, the organisation particularly concerned that the guidelines, regulating circumstances in which troops can open fire, may permit unjustifiable killings. In practice, the restrictions imposed by these guidelines are reportedly often disregarded. The authorities appear not to have taken adequate measures to promptly investigate fatal incidents and punish those found guilty of abuses. The report goes on to point out that almost half of the over 550 unarmed civilians shot dead by Israeli forces between December 1987 and October 1989 were aged 18 or younger. More than 110 of the victims were aged 16 or less and included children as young as three and four. The report pointed out also that Israeli forces have shot and killed unarmed Palestinians ostensibly while trying to arrest them. In a number of cases the victims do not appear to have been involved in any violent activity when they were shot. Israeli soldiers are allowed to use live ammunition to arrest people wearing masks.
Amnesty International, a highly respected organisation, which is concerned about human rights have produced a report which damns the security forces in the occupied territories. It is time the world in general took more notice of what is going on there. The general willingness to turn a blind eye to unacceptable activities has condemned hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to a miserable existence in appalling conditions in refugee camps. Throughout the history of the Israeli State and especially in the past few years, it has shown a contempt not just for the rights of Palestinians but also for international law and for the United Nations. It has engaged in the forced deportation of Palestinian civilians despite the fact that this is in clear breach of the 1949 United Nations convention regarding the treatment of civilians under military rule. It has persistently ignored United Nations resolutions and has treated representatives of the United Nations with contempt. As we know, most of the casualties suffered by Irish troops serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon have been at the hands of Israeli backed forces.
I welcome the fact that the Irish Government have spoken out in the past against the unacceptable activities of the Israeli Government and their security forces and I hope they will now protest to the Israeli Government in an even stronger manner and press the European Council of Ministers to adopt a similarly strong position. The Israeli ambassador should be called in and told quite clearly of our anger and indignation.
The Government should demand the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territories they have illegally occupied since 1967 and their replacement by a United Nations force. The Government should also consider sending an all-party Dáil delegation to the occupied teritories there and to report back on what measures we might take to assist the plight of the Palestinians living there. This weekend a delegation from the European Parliament will be visiting Tel Aviv. I hope to be with that delegation to investigate the situation there at first hand for the European Parliament.
The Irish Government must use their position as President of the EC Council of Ministers to urge moves towards a lasting peace in the Middle East. The biggest single obstacle to the peace process in the Middle East is the persistent refusal of the Israeli authorities to enter into any discussions with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, which is the legitimate representative voice of the Palestinian people. In South Africa, the Nationalist Party Government of President De Klerk has been forced to enter into negotiations with the ANC but the Israeli Government still persists in its refusal to talk, thus blocking the road to peace and condemning many more people to needless deaths.
Any lasting solution to the problem of the Middle East must include as a central feature a homeland for the Palestinian people. There is considerable international support for the convening of a UN backed international conference on the Middle East but, again, this has been blocked by Israel. The Government have expressed their concern for an international conference but I hope they will examine ways of pursuing this even more vigorously through the European Community and the United Nations.
Apart from the humanitarian considerations for Palestinians and Israeli people we have a direct interest in securing a lasting peace in the Middle East. Peace would allow for the withdrwal of Irish and other UN troops from Lebanon and would also create a climate where the release of Brian Keenan and other hostages would become more probable. On the other hand, incidents such as those at the weekend poison the atmosphere throughout the entire Middle East and are not conducive to the release of the hostages.
I note from newspaper reports today that the Minister for Foreign Affairs is to meet the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat, in Tunis, on Saturday next. I hope the Minister will extend to Mr. Arafat the sympathy of the Irish people on the recent deaths of so many Palestinian civilians. I urge the Minister and Mr. Arafat also to take steps to advance the proposal made during their meetings last November that the Palestine Liberation Organisation should be allowed to open an office in this country and appoint an official representative. I understand that the Palestine Liberation Organisation are anxious and ready to go ahead and, indeed, have already nominated their representative and that they are simply awaiting the sanction of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Now would be an appropriate time to take this step.
It is important that the European Community and the Irish Government's position in the European Council at this time should be used to exert the greatest possible diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel to change their position with regard to the Palestinians. There is a clear indication that the peace process in the Middle East has run aground, and it is important that the EC, the US and the Soviet Union, too, who also have an interest in the area, should use all their efforts to get the peace process back on the rails and overcome the blockages. If it means applying economic sanctions to Israel, that should be done, at least on a progressive basis, in order to bring them to their senses and bring them to the negotiating table.