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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Mar 2003

Vol. 562 No. 5

Ceisteanna – Questions (Resumed). Priority Questions. - Middle East Peace Process.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Ceist:

112 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the attitude of the Israeli administration to the Quartet road map, if he has raised concerns with the Israeli Prime Minister over the fact that the policy guidelines of the new Israeli coalition Government do not refer to the Quartet road map in any way; his further views on the widely expressed fears that the Israeli Government will escalate its attacks on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and pursue a policy of ethnic cleansing under the cover of war on Iraq; and his further views on the contrast between the current insistence on full Iraqi compliance with UN resolutions and the leniency which has historically and continuously been shown the State of Israel, which has consistently defied UN resolutions since 1967. [6768/03]

The Quartet road map enjoys the support of the international community and represents the best hope of peace in the Middle East. Its aim of a viable, democratic Palestinian state living in peace beside Israel is one to which the European Union, Russia, the United States and the UN Secretary General are fully committed. The need for all parties to the Middle East conflict to engage along the lines of the road map has been stressed on many occasions by the European Union. It is regrettable that the new Government of Israel has not yet given a positive response to the road map as it clearly offers the best hope of peace and security for the people of Israel and the region in general. I hope that, when the road map is formally adopted and published by the Quartet, the Government of Israel will realise the potential it offers and embrace its possibilities.

I am aware of fears that, in the event of hostilities in Iraq, circumstances in the occupied Palestinian territories might deteriorate. However, the fear raised by the Deputy that any Israeli Government would use that opportunity to engage in ethnic cleansing is one that disturbs me greatly and I find it difficult to share. It is hardly credible that people of Israel, conscious as they are of the appalling crimes of genocide visited over generations upon their own nation, would countenance a policy of ethnic cleansing being conducted in their name. However, the Government continues to be deeply concerned about the Israeli Government's ongoing policy of establishing and expanding settlements in the occupied territories. This activity is illegal and must stop. Israel's settlement policy is perhaps the biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East. To suggest, as some do, that settlement activity should cease only as there is progress towards a peaceful settlement is, in my view, putting the cart before the horse.

As regards the alleged discrepancy between the treatment of Israel and Iraq, the Government is of the view that all resolutions of the United Nations Security Council should be respected and obeyed. This includes both those resolutions applying to Iraq and those relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Government regrets the failure of Israel to comply with the wishes of the Security Council expressed in numerous resolutions. However, a significant difference between the two groups of resolutions is that those relating to Iraq have been adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter, which provides for enforcement action by the United Nations, while those relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were adopted under Chapter VI of the Charter, which does not. The fact that resolutions were adopted many years ago does not weaken their force and it is clear to all involved in the search for peace in the Middle East that the provisions of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and other relevant resolutions will form the basis for the eventual settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the case of Iraq, the Security Council has been applying economic sanctions against Iraq for 12 years in an, as yet, unsuccessful effort to force Iraq to surrender its weapons of mass destruction. Where such sanctions have proved to be inadequate, Article 43 of the UN Charter clearly allows the Security Council to sanction military action as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.

While the Minister accepts the need to implement UN resolutions, it is a pity he does not agree with me that there is a double standard in their application, even though they have been passed under different chapters. What is happening in Israel and, in particular, in the occupied Palestinian territories equates to breaches of international law, torture and denial of human rights. What steps will the Minister take to muster the political will in Europe and the UN to bring pressure on Israel to conform to the UN resolution? Israel, in ignoring the quartet road map, has taken a decision to consign it to the dustbin. That will be frustrating for everybody who has put so much effort into it. The best hope is that the UN resolutions will be complied with and political pressure will be brought to bear on Israel to comply with them.

There is no double standard in the UN regarding the implementation of its resolutions. There are different chapters which afford different levels of intervention and there are different instruments available to the UN in not just the adoption of resolutions but also their implementation. Chapter seven has an enforcement mechanism that is not available under chapter six resolutions.

It is important that this intractable problem is dealt with through a measure of collective political will that will bring about effective change consistent with the road map set out by the quartet. Ireland will continue to work through the Euro pean Union on this matter to bring about adoption of the resolution and to ensure it will form the context within which future developments will take place in relation to the political and security measures that are necessary in the Middle East.

Ireland has been consistently forthright, under successive Governments, regarding the need to recognise the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and, of course, the right of peaceful co-existence for the state of Israel.

Israel will do whatever it likes.

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