The Government has repeatedly expressed its deep concern at the killing of innocent civilians and the violence which has led to the large number of deaths of children in the current conflict. The Government has made these concerns known directly to the participants on numerous occasions. The Government accords a very high priority to a final and comprehensive settlement of this problem. The Deputy may recall that, as a member of the Security Council, Ireland co-sponsored Security Council Resolution 1435 on 24 September 2002, which addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, among other things, reiterated the need for respect in all circumstances for international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
In my statement of 27 September 2002, I called on the government of Israel to immediately comply in full with the requirements of Resolution 1435 and to conduct itself in a manner which is fully consistent with international humanitarian law. I have also called repeatedly for an end to terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians which have resulted in the deaths of many Israeli children. This remains the position of the Government and, as such, is consistently advocated by Ireland in meetings of the European Union, the United Nations and other relevant international bodies.