Gaza and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Holly Cairns

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that:

— nearly 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, reported missing or wounded in Gaza since Israel began its military operation three months ago;

— among this number are nearly 25,000 people who have been confirmed dead, two thirds of whom are women and children;

— 85 per cent of the population has been displaced, mostly to areas that have faced repeated bombardment from Israel by land, air and sea;

— Israeli missiles have targeted schools, universities, hospitals, United Nations (UN) facilities, refugee camps, places of worship, and critical civilian infrastructure like sanitation and communication facilities;

— Israel has dropped hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs which have a lethal blast radius of 365 metres, equivalent to 58 soccer fields in area, in densely populated residential areas in Gaza;

— as far back as 10th November, 2023, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned: "In Gaza, nowhere and no one is safe";

— according to Save the Children, every day since 7th October, 2023, more than 10 children have lost one, or both, legs in Gaza;

— the healthcare system has collapsed and operations, like amputations and caesarean sections, are being performed without anaesthetic;

— according to Human Rights Watch, the Israeli government is using starvation as a weapon of war and deliberately depriving civilians of the "resources necessary for daily existence" – food, water and medical supplies;

— according to UN Secretary General, António Guterres, 80 per cent of the hungriest people in the world are now in Gaza and more than one million people are starving;

— lack of clean water, inadequate sanitation, malnutrition and the collapse of the healthcare system is causing a public health disaster of unfettered epidemic and contagious disease among displaced Palestinians; and

— on 5th January, 2024, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said: "Gaza has simply become uninhabitable";

further notes that:

— senior Israeli government officials, including the Prime Minister, President and Minister of Defence, have repeatedly made statements of genocidal intent;

— as far back as 16th November, 2023, UN experts highlighted "evidence of increasing genocidal incitement" against Palestinians and expressed profound concern about the "failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide"; and

— South Africa has initiated proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ("the Genocide Convention");

agrees that:

— Ireland ratified the Genocide Convention in 1976;

— under Article 1 of the Convention, State parties to the Genocide Convention have an obligation to take measures to prevent genocide;

— no armed attack on a State’s territory, even a heinous attack involving a criminal atrocity like the attack by Hamas on Israel, and the taking of hostages, on 7th October, 2023, can ever justify, or provide a defence to, breaches of the Genocide Convention;

— Ireland has previously acted on its obligation under Article 1, filing an intervention in support of a case taken by Ukraine against Russia under the Genocide Convention in 2022;

— writing in the Irish Independent on 19th January, 2024, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD, outlined the circumstances in which Ireland would intervene in the South African case against Israel at the ICJ:

"Once the court has issued its decision in relation to provisional measures, we will analyse this carefully and consult with other like-minded partners, as well as with South Africa.

This analysis and consultation will take place alongside a rigorous analysis of the multiple legal aspects of this case by the Department of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Attorney General. Once this is completed, the Government will take a decision whether to intervene in this case."; and

— while the Irish State waits for the ICJ’s decision on preliminary measures to begin this consultation and legal analysis, an average of 250 Palestinians are being killed in Gaza every day by Israel; and

calls on the Government to take its obligations under the Genocide Convention seriously and support South Africa in its efforts to stop a genocide in Gaza by intervening in the case at the ICJ as a matter of urgency and at the earliest possible opportunity.

I note that the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs is not here this morning. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is taking the debate. It is unfortunate that the Tánaiste is not only unwilling to act, he is also seemingly unwilling to listen. On Sunday, he was asked about this motion on RTÉ and started by saying that Israel has to be held to account. Let us count the ways that this Government has held Israel to account for its slaughter in Gaza. For three months, the Social Democrats have asked the Government to lobby for trade sanctions against Israel at EU level. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, so trade sanctions would hurt. Ireland could advocate for this at EU level but that has been ruled out repeatedly. This is because, according to the Taoiseach, if you go too far out on a limb, you lose influence.

Not only is there no prospect of trade sanctions but, to the best of my knowledge, the Government never even raised the issue in Brussels.

Withdrawing the diplomatic status of the Israeli ambassador is another way Israel could have been held to account. The Social Democrats put down a motion in the Dáil in November asking the Government to do that. We did not take that step lightly, but at that stage more than 10,000 Palestinians had been slaughtered in just a month and senior officials in the Israeli Government were talking about wiping Gaza off the face of the earth, so we felt it was appropriate to send a strong signal to Israel that Ireland opposes its actions. The Government refused to do that also. The Social Democrats then asked the Government to make a referral to the International Criminal Court, and to investigate whether members of the Israeli Government and military have committed war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Gaza. It refused to do that as well.

The Government has even refused to act when it comes to its own legislative agenda – something that is entirely within its control. We have repeatedly asked the Government to enact the occupied territories Bill and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill as a matter of urgency. Doing that would penalise economic activity in the occupied territories. It would not hurt as much as EU trade sanctions but it would at least be something - some small way of holding Israel to account, and leading by example. However, the Government also refused to do that. When the Government says Israel has to be held to account, who exactly does it think is going to do that? It does not look like it is going to be the Irish Government.

Every time this Government has been asked to follow its words with actions and hold Israel to account, it has refused to do so. Does the Minister believe that holding Israel to account is someone else's responsibility? The death toll in Gaza is now at more than 25,000 – and this Government is still taking a wait-and-see approach. After 10 p.m. on Monday last, we heard that the Government intended to scrap its own Dáil business yesterday afternoon and debate its own motion on Gaza. I thought that was great. Surely, given the dramatic fashion in which this motion was being rushed to the Dáil, it would contain something concrete. This would be the motion that finally tells us how this Government intends to hold Israel to account. I thought it would contain some new commitment and tangible support for the Palestinian people, but it did not. It was just a restatement of everything we have heard from the Government before. The question of supporting South Africa's case under the genocide convention at the International Court of Justice, ICJ, has been firmly kicked to touch. We are told the Government will strongly consider an intervention in the South African case, but only after the preliminary ruling has been made and after South Africa files its substantive case. That, as I am sure the Minister knows, could take months.

Meanwhile, an average of 250 Palestinians are being killed every day. We do not need to wait for preliminary judgments and subsequent assessments to indicate our support. I am sure the Government knows that. Other countries are certainly not waiting for a judgment to indicate their opposition. Germany, the US and the UK have dismissed South Africa's case out of hand. Germany has already indicated that it will be intervening at the ICJ in support of Israel. It does not need to wait for the preliminary ruling, so why does the Government? It is a question that the Tánaiste needs to answer.

When Russia invaded Ukraine and later attacked civilian infrastructure there, the Tánaiste was quick to label its actions as genocide. He wrote on Twitter that Russia's horrific attack on a railway station was "further evidence of the barbaric nature of Russia's war on Ukraine. This is genocide. And those responsible must be held to account." The Russians, of course, were rightly held to account for their brutal invasion of Ukraine. To name just some of the serious consequences that flowed from that invasion, trade sanctions were almost immediately put in place across the western world, travel visas were cancelled and bank accounts were frozen.

Israel has faced none of those consequences. It is quite the opposite. We have the Americans rushing to provide the Israelis with an infinite supply of bombs to drop on Palestinian civilians and Germany claiming that the attacks are proportionate and in line with international humanitarian law. Even the language the Government uses about this matter is different. I have searched but I cannot find any reference to the Tánaiste describing the slaughter in Gaza as genocide in the way he did regarding Ukraine.

This is despite the enormous death toll, the tens of thousands who have been maimed, the collapse of the healthcare system, the outbreak of famine and the fact that the UN is now warning that Gaza has been rendered uninhabitable. If this is not a blatant double standard, then could the Minister explain the discrepancy? Clearly, "genocide" is not a word that the Government wants to use in relation to Israel, at least not until the preliminary ruling from the ICJ gives it some cover. Last week, the Taoiseach explained why this may be the case. He said it was uncomfortable for him to accuse Israel of genocide given the Holocaust that the Jewish people suffered, but that misses the point entirely of the genocide convention. It was adopted by the UN in 1948 as a result of the Holocaust - to ensure that never again would any person face an atrocity like that suffered by the Jewish people. It should also be pointed out that our motion does not ask the Government to make a determination of genocide. It asks it to simply live up to its obligations under the genocide convention, which Ireland belatedly signed up to in 1976, namely, to recognise the risk that a genocide is being committed in Gaza, and to act to stop it.

Article 1 of the convention obliges Ireland to do this; not just to punish genocide, but to act to prevent it. The ICJ has previously explained what this obligation entails, by stating:

A State's obligation to prevent genocide, and the corresponding duty to act, arise at the instant that the State learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed.

I do not think anyone in government can claim to be blind to the risk of genocide in Gaza, or is it the case that the Government require more death, more suffering, more disease, more starvation and more devastation before it acts?

Having spoken of holding Israel to account, it is time that this Government did so. I ask that the Government would support this motion, which has one singular call, namely, for the Government "to take its obligations under the Genocide Convention seriously and support South Africa in its efforts to stop a genocide in Gaza by intervening in the case at the ICJ as a matter of urgency and at the earliest possible opportunity." This is an opportunity for accountability and to try to prevent genocide. It is not just the Social Democrats who think the Minister should seize this opportunity. The Government has a legal and moral obligation to act and to do so now.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Last week, all Members of the Oireachtas were invited to stand outside the Dáil and read names from a list of people who have been murdered in Gaza since this conflict began. I did not realise the weight of the task until I started reading those names. There was name after name on page after page. The list just seemed to go on forever. The most difficult part was reading out the names and the ages of children.

They were babies, toddlers and teenagers whose only concerns should have been things like going to school, playing with their friends and getting up to mischief. Instead, because they had been murdered indiscriminately, a stranger on the other side of the world was standing reading their names out.

This war has been described as a war on children. UNICEF has said it is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child, and I do not think anyone can doubt that. Some of the Government's own Ministers have said similar. Some 25,460 people have now been killed in the conflict in Gaza, 70% of whom are women and children. That is 117 children - 117 children - a day. Over ten children a day have one or both limbs amputated, often without anaesthetic. Since the conflict began, 20,000 babies have been born, and that is 144 babies every day. A UNICEF official has said that those babies are being born into hell. Oftentimes, they are born to mothers who undergo a Caesarean without anaesthetic, and oftentimes they are being cut out of their mothers, as their mother is dead. Some 135,000 children under the age of two are at risk of severe malnutrition and 71,000 cases of diarrhea, which is one of the most serious killers of children, have been recorded in children under the age of five. That is a 4,000% increase since the war began.

There can be no doubt as to the urgency of this situation, and that is why I find the Government's "wait and see" approach to be particularly abhorrent. Every single day that the Government waits before it actually provides a tangible action means more children will die, will be maimed and will go missing. I sat and watched the debate yesterday in the Dáil. What I saw was the Government cowering behind semantics and procedure. Today, we see the Tánaiste cowering behind the agriculture Minister, and we see the Government cowering behind nice words. They are strong words because that is what surprised me most. Every single TD that stood up yesterday condemned and said how absolutely horrific what was happening in Gaza was, and yet, the Government will not take action. That is a complete shame on it, and I think most Government TDs recognise that as well. Those nice words and strong words will mean nothing to the next child who has to have their leg amputated without anaesthetic.

If there is any country in this world that should be standing beside South Africa in this case, standing for what is right and just, and standing to protect those children, it is Ireland. As Deputy Cairns pointed out, all we are asking in our motion is that the Government does that at the earliest available opportunity. If the Government and its TDs cannot do that simple thing on behalf of this country, all I have to say is, what hope does Gaza have?

Deputy Catherine Murphy

This motion is aimed at a practical measure that this country can take to bring to an end this slaughter of children, women and men that is happening in Gaza, with women and children making up the majority of those slaughtered. It is not just about revenge for the appalling acts on 7 October by Hamas. This is not just about revenge. It has gone beyond revenge, with the denial of the basics of life, like food, clean water, medicine, fuel and shelter. It is about the further killing of people.

Time is absolutely of the essence. Something like 5,000 children every month are being killed. Can we really wait while we are watching that? It is imperative that action be taken immediately. I am looking at the United States, and I am appalled at the President of the United States appearing to ask politely for Israel to restrain itself, yet at the same time, it is providing a huge amount of weapons to continue that slaughter. We are months looking at this now, and even last night I was looking at footage of a man who had just given an interview to ITV. The minute the interview was over, a sniper killed him. It is just appalling. It is out there, and people can see it. We are probably seeing less footage than we did, and the reason for that is that journalists have been a particular target, so that the world cannot see as it did before. We are seeing schools, universities, healthcare facilities and ambulances being taken out. The Geneva Convention is very clear on what are civilian targets and what is out of bounds for warfare. All of these fulfil those kinds of categories.

What is this about? It is about a land grab. It is about wiping out the Palestinian people and removing them from their homeland. That is what this is about. It is about a genocide and ethnic cleansing. I have to say that I was very proud of the Irish King's Counsel who represented South Africa in the case that was initially stated some weeks ago, and we are waiting for the response that we hope will come very soon. She said:

The United Nations Secretary-General and its chiefs describe the situation in Gaza variously as a crisis of humanity, a living hell, a bloodbath, a situation of utter, deepening and unmatched horror where an entire population is besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival on a massive scale.

That is what is happening. I can understand the people of Gaza feeling like the world has forgotten about them. I can see the paralysis, and we can all the see the paralysis, of the United Nations. There is a huge task for the International Court of Justice to be balanced in its decision because there is a feeling that international human rights law is stacked against particular countries. I can see why the Palestinians will feel that it is stacked against them because there have been huge numbers of resolutions passed, for example, at the United Nations and they have just been ignored. We cannot ignore a genocide. What we are looking for is for us to stand up, show leadership and attach ourselves to supporting this case. That is why we have asked for one thing in this motion, and I urge the Government to have another think on this.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Charlie McConalogue)

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"expresses its deepest concern at the continued deterioration of the situation in Gaza and the resulting catastrophic humanitarian disaster with over 24,000 dead, thousands missing, 1.9 million people displaced, and massive destruction of housing and vital infrastructure, including education facilities;

deeply deplores the major food insecurity on a massive scale, with United Nations (UN) agencies warning of imminent famine which will affect 400,000 people, the near collapse of the health system in large parts of Gaza with 65 per cent of hospitals now shut and the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning of widespread death from preventable diseases;

condemns the ongoing bombardment of Gaza;

highlights the urgent need for full, safe, and unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian aid by UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs);

demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, and the cessation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel;

underlines its deep concern at the continued deterioration of the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, particularly the violence against, and displacement of, Palestinian communities by some Israeli settlers;

condemns the recent Israeli announcements of further funding for illegal settlements, which are a breach of international law and undermines the two-state solution;

notes:

— the International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings instituted by South Africa under the Genocide Convention, and the hearings last week involving the parties to this case;

— the concerns expressed by a range of States and organisations regarding breaches of international law, including international humanitarian law in this fraught and catastrophic conflict;

— the two other cases and investigations ongoing in respect of Israel and Palestine, including the ICJ advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; and the ongoing investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the situation in Palestine, focused on potential war crimes and crimes against humanity since 2014 and includes the events of 7th October and all actions since that date;

— that Ireland intervened before the ICJ in the case taken by Ukraine against Russia, in addition to participating in the two advisory opinion cases related to Israeli actions in Palestine, in 2004 and 2023; and

— that third-party State interventions in such cases only take place after the Court has made its order on preliminary measures and the associated filing of a memorial by the applicant and should be based on necessary legal and policy analysis;

welcomes:

— the Government's additional voluntary contribution of €3 million to the ICC, to adequately resource all situations before the Court, including Palestine; and

— the planned participation by Ireland at the level of the Attorney General in oral proceedings in the ICJ advisory opinion case in February in The Hague;

agrees that the overwhelming priority of the Government must be to advocate for an immediate stop to the death and destruction in Gaza and take relevant actions to this end; and

agrees to:

— insist on full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and support the UN in their efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian goods into Gaza;

— support any decision of the ICJ on preliminary measures, which are final and binding on the parties concerned, and urge all parties to the Genocide Convention to also do so;

— strongly consider an intervention in the South Africa v Israel case at the ICJ, as a matter of urgency after the Court has made its order on preliminary measures and the filing by South Africa of its memorial in the case , which is the only appropriate process to do so and following the necessary legal and policy analysis; and

— continue to underline the independence and impartiality of the ICC and to support its work; insist that all States, whether they are parties to the Rome Statute or not, cooperate with the ICC investigation into the situation in Palestine and Israel; and

— drive efforts at European Union level to institute a sanctions regime against violent settlers in the West Bank who are attacking and displacing Palestinian communities, differentiating between Israel itself and the illegal settlements that are illegal under international law.".

The Private Members' motion tabled by the Social Democrats focuses on the proceedings initiated by South Africa under the Genocide Convention. This was the subject of extensive debate in this House yesterday and I would like to reiterate the Government’s position on the matter.

The Government is taking this case very seriously. Following the oral proceedings that took place on 11 and 12 January, I expect the court will make its decision on the provisional measures that South Africa has requested by the end of January or in early February. This decision will be analysed carefully by the Department of Foreign Affairs once it has been published and Ireland will continue to consult closely with its international partners, including South Africa.

As with all similar cases that have come before the court, we expect states to seek permission to intervene in the case only once the applicant - in this case, South Africa - has filed its memorial. This is what occurred in the other recent cases before the court regarding the Genocide Convention, those being Ukraine v. Russia and The Gambia v. Myanmar.

Following that, the Government will consider whether to seek the permission of the court to intervene and, if so, on what legal basis. As the Tánaiste has made clear, interventions by states are not just about joining one side or another. Rather, they aim to assert a legal interpretation of the issue at hand. Any decision we take on intervention will be based on detailed and rigorous legal analysis. As in the Ukraine v. Russia case, the expectation is that this will take some time. Our declaration of intervention in that case was made six months after the court made its provisional measures order and two months after Ukraine, as applicant, submitted its memorial.

We have all watched with horror as death and destruction have unfolded in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory and beyond. The violence of recent months is just one of a number of factors threatening the entire civilian population of Gaza. Other factors such as food insecurity, water contamination and prolonged pauses in education will result in generational crises for many Palestinians. Since 7 October last year, more than 25,000 people have been reported killed as a result of Israel's military operation in Gaza. Only 16 out of Gaza's 36 hospitals are functional. Reports by The Wall Street Journal show that by mid-December last year, over 70% of homes in Gaza had been destroyed. These figures paint a picture of utter devastation in the Gaza Strip. This unprecedented suffering of a civilian population simply cannot be allowed to continue.

Many of these tragic circumstances will continue to impact civilians for years to come. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has said, "Currently every single person in Gaza is hungry". He has warned of the very real danger of growth stunting, which is an irreparable process of preventing full growth potential due to extreme malnourishment. Undernourished and stunted children are more likely to develop chronic health problems as adults and more likely to have lower educational achievement and reduced economic security. This is a grave concern for Gaza's young population, more than 1 million of whom are under the age of 18.

The situation I have set out was encapsulated by the UN Secretary General in his comment that "the wholesale destruction of Gaza and the number of civilian casualties caused by the Israeli army in such a short period are totally unprecedented during my mandate". Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council met in open session. Such debates are important opportunities for states that are not members of the council to directly contribute to its deliberations. Ireland was forthright and clear in its intervention. We reiterated our support for the UN Secretary General and, in particular, for UN agencies and staff working on the front line in Gaza. In line with the Tánaiste's engagement with the Israeli foreign minister on Monday, we also called out the sustained campaign of disinformation and delegitimisation directed towards UN organisations, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC. It is vital this campaign ceases and Israel instead moves to foster a more constructive relationship with those organisations.

We took the opportunity to recall our consistent condemnation of the attacks launched by Hamas on and since 7 October. The rape and murder of civilians, destruction of civilian property, taking of hostages, use of human shields and firing of indiscriminate rockets at urban centres are serious violations of international humanitarian law for which those involved must be held responsible. We have called and continue to call for all hostages to be released.

However, it is equally beholden upon us to recall that international law limits the use of force in self-defence to no more than is necessary and proportionate. This is a point we set out clearly to the UN Security Council in yesterday's debate. Ireland's view is these limits are being exceeded, as illustrated by the unacceptable death toll and the massive destruction of property, including homes, throughout Gaza, the displacement of up to 2 million people and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe to which I referred. Furthermore, we recalled that international humanitarian law requires that in any armed conflict, military operations respect the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. Ireland is increasingly concerned that the use of heavy munitions with a wide blast area cannot be limited to military objectives located in heavily populated urban centres and is therefore indiscriminate. Their use in these circumstances unavoidably leads to the extensive destruction of nearby civilian property and loss of civilian life. The use of these munitions must stop.

The Government's position has been clear and consistent across all forums and in its bilateral engagement. We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. This is a message we conveyed at the United Nations yesterday. It remained central to the Tánaiste's approach at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. At that meeting, Ireland was a strong voice for the application of international law in all conflicts and to all parties, state actors and non-state actors alike. Ireland has been working closely with like-minded countries in the EU to discuss next possible steps to address the crisis. The Government is determined to continue demanding EU-wide commitment to addressing this situation.

Close engagement and co-ordination with regional partners is also of central importance. It is very welcome that a number of foreign ministers from the region attended the Foreign Affairs Council last Monday, including the those of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine, as well as the Secretary General of the League of Arab States. The Tánaiste also maintains frequent bilateral engagement with his counterparts in the region. Ireland's actions reflect our strong commitment to multilateralism. We voted in favour of both UN General Assembly resolutions calling for a humanitarian ceasefire last year.

The situation in the West Bank is also of deep concern. Approximately 358 Palestinian people have been killed there since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, including eight people killed in attacks by violent settlers. This marks the highest number of Palestinians killed in one year since the UN began keeping records in 2005. It is utterly unacceptable. The sharp rise in settler violence, displacement of Palestinian communities and maltreatment of Palestinian prisoners is worrying and dangerous. The protection of civilians must be the priority everywhere. Ireland has shown consistent leadership in raising this issue repeatedly. We have called on Israel to dismantle settlements, charge violent settlers and end the practice of administrative detention in the West Bank. At the Foreign Affairs Council this week, the Tánaiste reiterated Ireland's demand that we move at EU level to impose sanctions on extreme Israeli settlers. Discussions are already ongoing at a working level on proposals, based on strong evidence, that enjoy very broad support.

The devastating events of recent months in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have exposed the deep-rooted security challenges for both populations. The only way to address these challenges and restore a political horizon is to give full strength to a two-state solution. The Government will continue to assert Ireland's position in the international community as a key driver of diplomatic efforts to make the two-state solution a reality.

Deputy Gary Gannon

I begin with the words of the German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht:

The first time it was reported that our friends were being butchered there was a cry of horror. Then a hundred were butchered. But when a thousand were butchered and there was no end to the butchery, a blanket of silence spread. When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out "stop!" When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When sufferings become unendurable the cries are no longer heard. The cries, too, fall like rain in summer.

It is an absolute travesty that not only is the Tánaiste not here for the debate on this motion but there is no Minister of State from the Department of Foreign Affairs present. The Minister who is in attendance merely presented the case on behalf of the Government and left the Chamber before we have a chance to respond. This is a debate on joining the case to the International Court of Justice. It is of the utmost importance and we will not accept the Government belittling it. We will continue to raise the issue time and again.

In the three months that have passed since the hideous escalation of the conflict in Gaza, I certainly am not alone in growing tired of the Government's self-congratulatory tone in the words it expresses while not following up with any action at all.

There was of course a time when the Government stood out in western and international diplomacy by simply calling for a ceasefire. That was meritorious at the time, but surely now the time for action has grown more pronounced. Yet, we still do nothing. A stand-out intervention occurred when, once again, the Tánaiste and Taoiseach were not present and the Minister, Deputy Harris, was in their place, and he iterated what is in our motion by saying that Israel is a state "blinded by rage" which was waging "a war on children". He went further and said, "You cannot build peace on the ... graves of children." Still, we are talking about a two-state solution and of course we aspire to that, but that will not happen when one state seems intent on obliterating the other. The Minister said that back in November, and still the Government seems frustrated that we are no longer just taking those words but are calling for action.

From the Social Democrats and equally across the Opposition, there have been a multitude of suggestions as to how the Government might advocate or enact economic or diplomatic sanctions against Israel to halt its slaughter of the Palestinian people in Gaza, but the Government has managed to evade responsibility and equivocate on each one. Even by that low standard, the collective Government response to the calls for Ireland to align with South Africa’s case in the ICJ has been nothing short of pathetic. The Government has been all over the place on the issue and it has been dragged to the position it is in now by public pressure, the motions that have been tabled and the calls that were made last week.

On 7 January, the Taoiseach gave a very different response when it was put to him on RTÉ radio whether the Government would seek to join the ICJ case. He said very explicitly that it was not the intention of the Government to do so. Had the Tánaiste been here, I would have asked him to detail what caused the change in tone and rhetoric. I had questions about that interview for the Tánaiste in his role of Minister for Foreign Affairs, most specifically relating to the Taoiseach’s same statements in which he invoked the Holocaust, the greatest example of man’s cruelty, which was perpetrated against the Jewish people throughout Europe, as a justification for us not meeting our own obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, which itself was born out of the horrors of that atrocity, as well as the subsequent global conviction that "never again" should mean precisely that, a cry that has been echoed by incredible Jewish voices for peace, such as the Jewish Voice for Peace, B'Tselem and other courageous voices from the Jewish community. Equally, the Taoiseach in that same interview referred to what he described as other genocides and went on to refer to the Armenian genocide. That was incredible in the sense that it was the first time a senior Minister, the Taoiseach no less, referred to and acknowledged the Armenian genocide.

As I stand here, I am conscious that I have used the word “genocide” already on a number of occasions. I promise that I feel the weight coursing through my veins each time I utter that word, as I am sure did the Tánaiste when, in his capacity as Taoiseach at the time, he tweeted on 8 April 2022:

We utterly condemn the slaughter of innocent civilians at Kramatorsk train station today. The horrific attack is further evidence of the barbaric nature of Russia’s war on Ukraine. [He continued] This is genocide. And those responsible must be held to account.

The then Taoiseach said that eight weeks into Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine. Given that he said that about the attack on Kramatorsk train station, which is seared into our collective memory and in which 63 civilians were killed, including nine children, and 150 more were wounded, does he not equally feel the hypocrisy when he fails to apply the same urgency in expression to Gaza? Just this week, both Oxfam and Trócaire outlined that Israel is killing more than 250 people per day. As we all know, Israel does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. To emphasise that point further, I reference the Save The Children report which shows that, since 7 October, ten children per day have lost one or both legs through bombing by Israel.

Yesterday, the Government tabled a motion contained within which were the words that the Government will “strongly consider an intervention in the South Africa v Israel case at the ICJ". What exactly does the Government mean by "strongly consider an intervention"? The Government will know that Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1976. Stated explicitly in Article 1 of this convention is the obligation on states to prevent genocide. It appears to be a tactical point on the Tánaiste’s part to conflate the responsibilities of the court with those of ourselves as a State actor, so allow me to reiterate that requirement. Under Article 1 of the convention, our responsibility as a state is to prevent genocide. It is not our role to define genocide, nor is it our role to prosecute it after the fact. It is our role to prevent it. We as a signatory have an obligation to assess the risks where there appears an obvious threat of genocide occurring. We are obliged to express those fears both to the courts, but prior to doing so, we are tasked with operating a dispute mechanism with Israel. I wanted to ask the Tánaiste if he has yet to do that. We keep talking about the necessity of keeping diplomatic channels open. Should the Irish Government find the courage to take a case to the ICJ, will we be able to point to documented references where the Irish Government has conveyed our dismay, displeasure, horror, whatever you want to call it, at any number of the atrocities Israel is committing in Gaza at the moment?

The Government has told us and the media on a number of occasions this week that the Irish State cannot legally intervene in the South Africa case at the moment, as if that was new information to anyone, but it is not. That reality is explicitly provided for in our motion when we said that we should intervene “as a matter of urgency and at the earliest possible opportunity”. That is in our motion, and that is what the Government proposes to take out in its amendment. We were careful in choosing these words because of the reality of the court, but equally, we said "urgently" in the expectation that the Government would endeavour on a tepid approach that is probably best encapsulated in the use of the phrase “strongly consider” in the Government's amendment.

However, the Government are not hamstrung to act in the period before the ICJ makes its preliminary findings. The State could add validity to the South African case by making a public statement of support of the case, and I note People Before Profit-Solidarity has added a helpful amendment to our motion to that effect, which we will be supporting and we hope the Government does too. It is a strong example of parties working collaboratively across the Chamber and working together in terms of amendments to motions and not trying to centre themselves on the issue, as others have done. I note, too, that Deputy Carthy has tabled amendments to the Government’s amendment, which we will likely also support.

The Tánaiste must also be aware that while not yet intervening formally, other states such as the US, the UK and Germany have already announced their intention to align themselves with Israel and are undertaking the task of building their legal case at this moment. Equally, we can begin that process on the side of South Africa if only we have the courage, and it will require courage, to go beyond ourselves and stand for something more than the illusion of statesmanship and seeming content that we have done just a little bit more to stand slightly above the former colonisers and states who very recently in history were complicit in their own forms of genocide. They are acting in accordance with their own histories and we should remember ours as we seek to endeavour to support the South African case but also supporting the people in Gaza who are undergoing incredible horrors that we believe are tantamount to the crimes of genocide.

We do not have to wait for the ICJ to make a preliminary finding before the Government undertakes a rigorous legal assessment of the facts. We should begin that process right now. Have members of the Government not already read the opinion of former President Mary Robinson in her statement on behalf of the Elders, or the statements by Professor Siobhán Mullally and Mary Lawlor who were part of the UN independent experts statement on 16 November? These were subsequently used in South Africa’s submission to the ICJ where another Irish human rights lawyer, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, was exemplary in her contribution on behalf of the South African case. These are examples of Irish human rights lawyers standing up and giving their legal opinions on what we are seeing with our eyes. We do not need to wait for a rigorous legal assessment. More to the point, why does that burden have to fall on South Africa? In addition to making observations or aligning with them, we can initiate our own proceedings to the ICJ that could complement the South African case. There are a multitude of different ways in which we could do it.

This Government had a foreign policy achievement in 2022, namely, the restriction on large-scale munitions in an urban environment. We got 82 other states to sign up to that. It was a foreign policy achievement, but the Government may as well rip it up, because 2,000 lb bombs are being blasted every single day on the most densely populated place in the world. It is half the size of Louth and we are doing nothing. The Government might as well rip up that achievement.

There is a situation that is in vogue at the moment whereby the Israeli Government and others are writing their names on bombs before they drop them, whereas in Gaza, parents are writing their names on their children's arms, should they be obliterated so they can be identified, and we sit back and do nothing. It is pathetic. We should align ourselves with South Africa but we should have the courage to go beyond that and enact our own proceedings.

Deputy Matt Carthy

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 2:

In the paragraph beginning "expresses its deepest concern"

Substitute: ‘killed’ for ‘dead’

to insert the following after "including educational facilities"

", as a result of the Israeli bombardment and airstrikes;";

After the words “condemns the ongoing bombardment of Gaza” to insert the following:

“and demands an immediate and permanent ceasefire”

After "the hearings last week involving the parties to this case” to insert the following:

“and commends South Africa for its action in this regard: determining that it is valid to ask the ICJ to investigate whether there is a risk of genocide; and notes that other states have indicated their intention to participate in the case”

Substitute the paragraph ending with "necessary legal and policy analysis" with the following:

“— that a number of States have indicated their intention to intervene in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings instituted by South Africa under the Genocide Convention;”

before the word “welcomes:” insert the following:

“- that Article I of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (‘Genocide Convention’) obliges parties to that Convention, including Ireland, to prevent genocide, which is defined in Article II as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

— that the International Court of Justice has held that “a State’s obligation to prevent [genocide], and the corresponding duty to act, arise at the instant that the State learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed”.

— that Ireland’s written submissions in the Ukraine v Russia case state: “In Ireland’s view, the notion of ‘undertake to prevent’ implies that each State party must assess whether a genocide or a serious risk of genocide exists prior to taking action pursuant to Article I [of the Genocide Convention].””

After the words "settlements that are illegal under international law.".” to insert the following:

“- urgently conduct an assessment for the purpose of Article I of the Genocide Convention of whether there is a serious risk that genocide is being committed in the context of the war in Gaza, taking into account the views of relevant experts, and to present the conclusion of this assessment to Dáil Éireann at the earliest possible opportunity;”

After the words "settlements that are illegal under international law.".” to insert the following:

- further calls on the government to utilise all diplomatic, economic and legislative mechanisms available to apply sanctions against Israel until such time as offensive military actions against the Palestinian people end and Israel has given a clear commitment to adherence to international law.

I welcome this debate and commend the Social Democrats on bringing this motion before the House. Imagine if we could pretend just for a moment that the past 100 days of bombardment of Gaza had not happened. Let us pretend we are living in a world where that bombardment has not occurred. We would still likely have very real cause to come to this House and debate motions in respect of Israeli actions.

If 7 October had not happened and if things had continued along the trajectory we have seen outside of Gaza, Israel would be in gross violation of international law every single day. There is no Hamas in the West Bank. If we look at what has happened since 7 October - it was happening long before, of course - we will see that hundreds of people have been murdered by Israeli state actors and their proxies. The motion brought forward by the Government yesterday, like its amendment to the Social Democrats motion today, referred to violent settlers, as if we are talking about a group of people who are acting independently of themselves. The reason there are violent settlers or settler terrorists - whatever term one wants to use - is that they have the full imprimatur of the Israeli state. Their job, on behalf of that state, is to prevent any prospect of a viable Palestinian state in breach of international law.

Benjamin Netanyahu laid bare the Israeli Government position in his utterances of the last week. Not only is it its position that there should not be a Palestinian state, but it is actively working to ensure that such a state is not viable. In doing so, it is in breach of international law. Therefore, there would be absolute rational cause, as we have done on many occasions in this House, to bring forward resolutions in respect of Israeli breaches of international law. We know that it would not have made any difference. How do we know that? It is because this House, over many years, has passed motions condemning Israeli aggression. The United Nations General Assembly has passed resolution after resolution. The difficulty behind all of that is that none of those resolutions were ever matched with substantive meaningful action which would tell Israel that it would pay a price if it continued its approach. Therefore, we have had in the past 100 days the bombardment of Gaza and the absolute destruction of an area of land the size of County Louth. Why has Israel done that? It has done so because it feels it can get away with it.

As Deputy Gannon has outlined very well, we have obligations under the genocide convention that we cannot ignore. Our responsibility as a signatory to the genocide convention is to try to ensure that genocide does not happen and that when it does happen, to bring it to a halt.

It has rightly been said by the Government and others that the ultimate arbiter as to whether a genocide is occurring, or whether there is an intention to commit genocide, will be the International Court of Justice. Genocide is, of course, a legal term but we are talking about a situation where government ministers describe people as animals; where government ministers in advance describe in great detail the collective punishment measures they intend to apply to those other people, including the denial of food, water, energy and medical supplies; where government ministers outline that it is their intention to wipe out, destroy and demolish Gaza in advance; where they then proceed to do exactly that, resulting in the course of 100 days in the murder and killing of 25,000 people, including 10,000 children; where they attack every single hospital in the territory and demolish every single third level education institution in that area; and where they forcefully displace 2 million people from such a small area. All I can say is that if anyone determines at the end of the day that this is not genocide, I do not really know what "genocide" will mean ever again. What will we apply that term to if we cannot apply it to what is being done by Israel on the Palestinian people of Gaza? In such circumstances the term "genocide" becomes a unicorn, or something that does not happen. However, it does happen. It is happening in Gaza right now.

As I pleaded with the Tánaiste yesterday, it is time to match what are strong and welcome words on the part of the Irish Government with meaningful actions which will help to bring Israel to halt its ongoing barbaric attacks against the people of Palestine.

Deputy Pa Daly

With the greatest respect to the Minister of State, it is very disappointing that there is nobody here from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Before he left, the Minister for agriculture dropped a statement which said that as the Tánaiste made clear, interventions by states are not about joining one side or another but about aiming to assert a legal interpretation of the issue at hand. That sounds to me like someone who is looking for an excuse not to do anything. It sounds to me like a Government that does not care.

I support this motion, which calls on the Government to take its obligations under the genocide convention seriously. As far back as 16 November, UN experts highlighted evidence of increasing genocidal incitement against Palestinians. This is not a war, it is a series of illegal attacks. There is only one actor causing the destruction and that is Israel. When we have indiscriminate shelling, bombing and shooting; the denial of food, water and medical care; hospitals being attacked; debates being shut down; universities being taken over; children being slaughtered; famine being created; and people being rounded up in a ghetto, we have a clear picture of an attempt to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Human Rights Watch has accused the Israeli Government of using starvation as a weapon of war and of depriving civilians of the resources necessary for daily existence.

Some 25,000 people are dead. That is every single person in the towns of Killarney, Castleisland, Dingle, Cahersiveen and Listowel. It is a systematic attempt to eliminate the Arab population. Nowhere and no one is safe in Gaza. We cannot stand idly by. We should light up Leinster House in the Palestinian colours, recognise the state of Palestine and implement the boycott, divestment and sanctions Bill.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. I thank the thousands of people who have taken the time to email and call my office. I thank everyone who has taken to the streets to push and to drive an Irish stance on this issue. We have wanted to have a collective stance as a nation, sending out a very clear message. That public pressure and activism is needed now more than ever. The Irish people know the historical importance of this issue. They know that as they are watching this unfold on their screens. This is what makes this different because it is in everybody's home every day of the week. Nobody can ever turn around in years to come and say they did not know. We know and we are faced with it every day. People rightly ask where the humanity is, and where the global structures and agreements that are meant to protect innocent people are. They have watched these structures and international agreements bend and sway to the ruthless objective of Israel to annihilate Palestinians.

The document presented by South Africa to the International Court of Justice is absolutely heartbreaking to read. It includes harrowing accounts of the suffering of Palestinians, which has cut young lives short; accounts of the complete lack of medical supplies, which has led to unnecessary amputation of limbs without anaesthetic, often undertaken by flashlight; and accounts by doctors of carrying out medical procedures without anaesthetic as their parents hold them and of pregnant women subject to Caesareans without anaesthetic. In the face of this unimaginable horror, the Government has technical arguments. The situation has become even worse since the genocide case was submitted at the end of December. Israel is now imposing a famine on Gaza as a weapon of war. My God, if that does not resonate with the Irish people, what will?

The Irish Government wonders if it might be genocide and if it is done intentionally. These are technical arguments to hide the cowardice of its position. Every country in the world should be rowing in behind the leadership of South Africa. Ireland needs to clearly support South Africa's case to the International Court of Justice. That is what the Irish people want. Maximum international support to advance the provisional judgments is vital. The technical arguments which the Government is hiding behind will just not wash it. That will be no good to the hundreds of children who will be slaughtered in the coming weeks if something is not done to get a ceasefire. This is time for everyone in this House to do the right thing. I say to the Minister of State that I understand the collective and the power of the collective but at some point in life one has to stand apart, stand up and lead the charge against the destruction of Palestine which is happening.

Deputy Imelda Munster

The horrors Israel has been committing in Gaza since October are frankly indescribable. I think I speak for most people when I say we watch TV screens and we cannot believe what we are watching because of the utter barbarity of it and also the fact nobody is doing anything to stop it. The civilian population of Gaza have been subject to the most depraved, indiscriminate bombing campaign in modern times. Not satisfied with bombing babies, women, children and other civilians in their beds, killing over 25,000 people in just over three months, Israel has destroyed the hospitals and the entire healthcare system in Gaza, ensuring there is no help coming for these people. It has also inflicted untold pain and suffering on the population through its various methods of collective punishment, denying people access to water, hygiene, aid and displacing 85% of the population. Israel is bombing hospitals, schools and refugee camps and these are war crimes and that is a fact.

It has been pointed out previously that Ireland was very forthright in its support for the Ukrainian case against Russia at the ICJ in 2022, and rightly so. At the time, the then foreign Minister, Deputy Coveney, said "As a party to the Genocide Convention and a strong defender of the international rules-based system, Ireland has a strong interest in ensuring that the Convention is properly interpreted and applied". Again, rightly so, but why do the same rules not apply to Palestine? Why the naked hypocrisy, cowardice and meekness from so-called world leaders who choose to look the other way while Israel commits the most evil of war crimes daily? Why, when South Africa took a stand against Israel did others, including our Government, not follow its example? Why did the Tánaiste say last night that the Government would review matters? Does he think the people of Palestine have time to wait around while he dithers? Does he not see what we see every single day happening before our eyes, namely, the slaughter of the Palestinian people by Israel? We cannot stand idly by and watch a country committing war crimes before our eyes. We need to support the South African case and anything less is utter hypocrisy and cowardice. I keep thinking all through this conflict that if I was a Minister in government or a member of Government who was watching this and deciding not to act, how would I explain that to future generations and even grandchildren?

Deputy Johnny Guirke

It is just over a 100 days into the slaughter of the Palestinian people by Israel with the most sophisticated weapons in the world on an area half the size of County Louth, bombed relentlessly from the land, sea and air, and this is called a war. Some 25,000 people are confirmed dead, of whom almost 11,000 are children, 7,500 are women and almost 10,000 are missing, presumed dead under the rubble. Over 60,000 are injured. More than 1.9 million people have been forcibly displaced multiple times. Hospitals and schools have been flattened and 70% of housing accommodation has been destroyed. There is a lack of food, water and medicine. Israel is destroying Gaza's food system intentionally and imposing a high rate of disease, prolonged malnutrition, dehydration and starvation by destroying civilian infrastructure. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is worsening and the strip is on the verge of famine.

The Government must do more. The people have been way ahead of the Government when it comes to what is going on in Gaza, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets in support of the Palestinian people. The Government’s role should be very clear as obligations under the Genocide Convention must be taken with the utmost seriousness. We all must acknowledge that what is happening before out eyes is genocide, an attempt by Israel to destroy the Palestinian people as a whole with no remorse for all the men, women and children it is slaughtering.

South Africa has taken a stand, a commendable and courageous stand, against this injustice. It is imperative we support its efforts to halt what is a genocide in Gaza. We must lend our voice, our power and our resolve to those who seek peace and justice. We must call on Israel to answer to the International Court of Justice for its actions. To the leaders in the West I say the attack on some commercial ships in the Red Sea moved the weapons and aircraft of the western world, while Israel’s annihilation of 25,500 Palestinians did not even move your consciences. Has the western world any right to talk about human rights anywhere in the world while at the same time allowing Israel to commit war crimes and genocide in Gaza? Israel is not being asked to give anything to the Palestinians, it is only being asked to return their stolen land and restore their trampled self-respect, along with their fundamental human rights and humanity. What is happening in Gaza is not war but colonialism, not eviction but ethnic cleansing and not conflict but 75 years of occupation. We stand with the Palestinian people.

Deputy Pauline Tully

Any one of the 153 states party to the Genocide Convention could have brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. South Africa is the only country to take this moral and principled stand and Ireland should join its genocide case against Israel. In the emergency hearing on Thursday, 11 January the legal team acting for South Africa set forth its case, aided in no small part by the obviously genocidal and dehumanising rhetoric coming from senior Israeli Government officials calling for the total destruction and erasure of Gaza, the need to finish them off and force Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and into Jordan.

Since mid-November, a large group of independent United Nations human rights experts have warned of a genocide in the making in Gaza and called for all countries to mobilise the international genocide prevention system. The UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator says Gaza has simply become "uninhabitable" while the world watches. It seems that is exactly what this Government intends on doing, as it stands idly by watching while thousands more innocent Palestinians are killed. The death toll now being reported is exceeding 25,000 since 7 October. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, who unfortunately is not here, recently spoke about seeing on TV and social media feeds horrific civilian deaths, including of children, mass displacement and destruction and entirely inadequate access for the UN and international organisations to provide vital humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. He has said we will judge when an intervention is warranted and we will submit one. The Government has not made an intervention so far, therefore it must not judge an intervention is warranted. I ask the Tánaiste and the Government how much evidence is needed before they judge an intervention is warranted. It is absolutely ridiculous.

Deputy Réada Cronin

Apart from the word "genocide", words do not exist to describe the atrocities being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. There is mass murder by bombs and drones, people are crushed to death, suffocated and now there is starvation, diarrhoea, infection and dehydration. The living are maimed, disabled and blinded. There is no anaesthetic for amputations or Caesarean sections. This is all because they are Palestinians; that is the simple reason. An occupied population for so long dehumanised, displaced and now facing genocide, all with billions from America, Germany and the UK.

With Ireland’s history of occupation, displacement and starvation we have a particular duty to name the genocide and act to prevent it and to support South Africa at the International Court of Justice. I thank the Social Democrats for this motion and the thousands of people who have emailed all of us in here. Genocide is not about opinion, but about facts and figures and the facts are there. In 100 days Israel killed over 24,000 people, around 15,000 of whom were children. That figure does not count bodies that were buried alive in the rubble. Israel wields starvation of the population as a weapon of war and cuts off energy, communications and medical aid as it does so. Israel terrorises and shreds that population limb from limb, baby from mother, father from children. Israel bulldozes Palestinian homes, streets, mosques, churches, schools, universities and even cemeteries. Israel shells packed refugee centres, hospitals and UN shelters. Israel’s snipers target surgeons as they operate in battlefield conditions. In cold blood, Israel assassinates doctors, ambulance workers, journalists and their families. What did Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh say at the Hague? She described a genocide on a population being live broadcast to the world. Israeli soldiers are happy to oblige, TikTokking their war crimes for the world to see. They will be shown some day in the Hague.

It is an insult to human intelligence to say that because a genocide was committed against European Jews the State of Israel cannot be accused of genocide. We must call it "genocide" and we must do so at the Hague.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion. Every evening when we leave here Leinster House is lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

That reminds us of a time of moral certitude within European and western democracies when such aggressive military action was taken by Russia in Ukraine that we all believed in what was right and wrong. We could all see the difference between right and wrong and there was a comfort in that. We had President Zelenskyy here and we had a level of solidarity across the European Union, the United States and the UK. However, it is also a reminder to me, every evening, of the hypocrisy of western democracies in the light of what is happening in Gaza. The biggest shock for me is the immorality of the response from the EU and Ms Ursula von der Leyen; from the US, which I might have expected; and from the UK. I want to take this opportunity to say something which is not comfortable for me to say. I want to call out the British Labour Party and its leader, Mr. Keir Starmer, from whom, as a potential incoming British Prime Minister, we would have expected better. His words have been a disgrace. His inaction has been a disgrace. He is disgracing his own party, the British Labour Party, and the labour movement. If that is the voice and inaction of Keir Starmer, many of us in the Labour Party in Ireland will think twice about campaigning for the British Labour Party in the upcoming general election there. I do not say that with any joy or any level of comfort but in this regard, we have to call out what we see to be wrong.

As has already been articulated, 25,000 people, half of them children, have been killed in 100 days. Let us not pretend that this is just about Gaza. We have had 358 killings in the West Bank in 100 days. That is 30 Bloody Sundays in 100 days and the Israelis are not going to stop because nobody is telling them to stop. There are no consequences to this. Israel can do whatever the hell it likes because it has learned, over generations, that it can do whatever the hell it likes. It is up to us now. I would say to those who criticise the Government that the Irish Government has gone further than most European countries in its rhetoric, in its stance and in what it has said. That is a fair comment. At a European level, people would point to Ireland as being one of those most firmly on the side of the Palestinian people. The Irish Government has been calling out, albeit in language that we might wish was stronger, what is happening in Gaza.

We cannot have a solution to this issue until we isolate Israel, as we isolated South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. There is no other way. We have tried everything else and it has not worked. They are, with glee, murdering and committing genocide. It is evil in our midst and we seem to be unable to call it out. Just as we stood against the evil of the South African apartheid regime, we have to call out and isolate the evil of the Israeli apartheid regime and the genocide it is committing on our watch. Until we break off all diplomatic, economic, sporting and artistic links with Israel, it is not going to learn and until we stand up to the United States, it is not going to learn. We cannot go to the White House in six weeks' time and gleefully hand over a bowl of shamrock to an administration that is backing this, cheerleading it, funding it and weaponising it. We cannot do that. I would also say to those political organisations in this Chamber who want to go there to raise money in six weeks' time that they cannot do that either. They cannot take money off these people. There comes a point when we have to say "No". There comes a point when we have to say to our friends and colleagues and those with whom we have deep political relationships that they are wrong, because some things are more important.

The sad point is that every time I leave Leinster House and I see the Ukrainian flag, it makes me feel that we are all hypocrites. That moral certitude we had - the sense of truth and justice that the West speaks about, and the sense that we are all in this together and that when we see evil, wrong or murder, we call it out - seems like smugness given what is happening now. There are 25,000 people dead, half of them children, and Israel is not going to stop. Who is going to tell Israel to stop?

In fairness, I know the Irish Government is going further than anybody else but we are just not going far enough. We have to call up the memory of how this country viewed the South African situation. We have to remember the women from Dunnes Stores who decided, even though they were poorly paid, that they would not handle South African fruit. That changed the world. The Irish Government should do something similar. It should say that we cannot go to the White House this year. This country has long historical and political links with the US but at this moment in time we just cannot morally look the US in the eye, hand its President some shamrock and say that everything is fine while its high-ranking politicians are over in Israel, signing contracts for missiles. The Irish-American joke Mike Pence, and others, are funding, supporting and cheerleading this.

What do we do? We have to support the South African action in the International Court of Justice. We have to recognise the state of Palestine, support the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill and break off all diplomatic, economic, political and sporting links with Israel. Unfortunately, we also have to come to the point of saying to our friends, be they in the White House or the British Labour Party, that they are cheerleading evil or are silent in the face or evil, they are wrong and that wrong has consequences. That might be uncomfortable but it is the right thing to do.

Deputy Paul Murphy

Just over two weeks ago the Taoiseach was asked whether Ireland would intervene on the side of South Africa against Israel's genocide at the International Court of Justice. He said very clearly that the Government does not intend to do so. He said, "I really think this is an area where we need to be very careful" and that genocide is "something very particular". It was a shameful intervention that put the Irish Government on the side of those states trying to undermine South Africa's case in the ICJ. Fast forward two and a half weeks and we have the spectacle, two days in a row, of the Government proposing a motion to the Dáil to encourage that same Government to strongly consider doing something, to strongly consider an intervention. What ties the two positions together? Utter moral cowardice. The Government is feeling the heat of public opinion and the heat of people's pride in Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh and the other lawyers who have exposed what is happening on the ground in Gaza, but it is not actually willing to do anything. It is not even willing to commit to making an intervention at the ICJ.

The facts have not changed. Leo Varadkar wants to say genocide is "something very particular" but what else would he call it? The genocide is written in the blood of the Palestinian people, with over 25,000 people massacred by Israel in the last 100 days or so, including over 10,000 children; and with ten children per day having their legs or arms amputated, most without anaesthetics. It is written in the destroyed buildings. We remember the arguments we had here about whether Israel had bombed a hospital. The majority of hospitals in Gaza have now been destroyed by Israel, as have the schools and mosques, as it attempts to drive people out. It is not just that, however. For me, the most powerful part of South Africa's case is that the genocide is written in the words of the Israeli leaders. Their words, both before and during the genocide that is taking place, reveal it to be absolutely premeditated. I will read just one of the very many quotes cited in the South African case. The President of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, said on 12 October, "It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it's absolutely not true ... we will fight until we break their back bone". At the ICJ we heard quote after quote from Israeli leaders which reveal that this is a genocide aimed against the Palestinian people. What do we get from the Irish Government? We get words, then slightly harsher words but we get no action.

There is no action, no sanctions, no expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and no commitment to even intervene in this case of genocide. That is in contrast to the action against Russia, which included the expulsion of diplomats, sanctions, intervention in the International Criminal Court, and the apparent moral backbone there. What explains the difference? It is not about morality. It was not about morality then and is not about morality now. It is about geopolitics and bowing down to the position of US imperialism. What has characterised the Government's response over the past three months has been tacking between public opinion on the one hand and the US imperial attitude and support for Israel on the other. The Government has the extreme moral cowardice of refusing to do anything for fear of offending Joe Biden, the US Administration and the big multinationals.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Thousands of people will be outside the Dáil tonight asking the Government to finally discharge its responsibilities under the genocide convention to prevent the commission of an ongoing genocide. It is a matter of shame that as a former colony that was a victim of colonialism, of apartheid laws such as the penal laws, and of brutal suppression of our attempts to assert our independence, we stand by and allow the Palestinians to be massacred. The Minister of State danced around it and talked strongly considering things. When will the Government make a decision to discharge its responsibility to prevent the massacre that is taking place? The Palestinians do not have time for the Government to think about this. It has been asked about this since November and has been told about its responsibilities under the genocide convention, but it is misleading the public.

Palestinians are paying with their blood as Israel, in front of the eyes of the world, incites genocide, refers to Palestinians as animals and then kills them as if they were animals. The Government stands by and allows this to happen. It continues to try to create an equivalence between Israel and Palestinians. Palestinians are the occupied. They are the victims of apartheid, they are the people who are denied the right to return and have been subject to ongoing ethnic cleansing for decades. They are the victims and the oppressed. The Israeli apartheid regime is their oppressor. We should stand with the oppressed as we stood with the South African people. It is outrageous that the Government muddies the waters by trying to create an equivalence when it is the Palestinian people who are the victims of this genocide, and of apartheid and illegal occupation, which are things they have the right to resist.

Will the Government please act to get Irish citizens, such as Zak Hania and others, out of Gaza because they are being held hostage by Israel as well?

Deputy Mick Barry

The best quote of the year so far was a tweet from Dr. Panti Bliss-Cabrera:

I keep thinking about only a couple months ago and all the fury and outrage and furious tweeting and angry articles provoked by *any* suggestion that Israel had bombed a single hospital - and then Israel went ahead and openly bombed *every* hospital.

She put the word "every" in inverted commas but meant virtually every hospital. The press reported this morning that Israel has ordered people to leave a swathe of downtown Khan Younis, including three hospitals. One of the hospitals, the Nasser hospital, is one of only two facilities in southern Gaza that can still treat critically ill patients. Doctors Without Borders states that its staff are trapped inside that hospital, along with 850 patients and thousands of displaced people. This is a key part of the genocide: to destroy health infrastructure and kill masses of people while doing it. It is another reason the Government should join the South African case. Given all its hesitations in that regard, it is a reason people should march this Saturday and keep the pressure on the Government to join that case.

I will comment briefly on the points raised by the Ceann Comhairle when he alleged that the left were promoting and playing a role in the rise of antisemitism in Ireland. That is very rich from someone in a party whose history includes a Taoiseach who at one stage signed a book of condolences following the death of Adolf Hitler. Our Constitution was written in part by an antisemite, namely, Archbishop McQuaid, and is in place to this day. We stand for the replacement of that Constitution with a socialist constitution that would separate church and state. The Government still abides by the Constitution and states it is the best constitution this country could have. I will make it very clear that the left is completely opposed to antisemitism. We stand with organisations, such as Jewish Voice for Peace, which oppose the Israeli Government on what it is doing. Criticising that government is not antisemitism, which is something we are completely opposed to.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

Today is incredibly important for the Government in the context of finally taking a stand and taking action against the horrific genocide occurring in Palestine. As I said during the debate last night, the Irish people have marched on this week after week, including more than 100,000 people in Dublin the week before last, which made it one of the largest demonstrations in many years. To be fair, the Irish public are far ahead of the Government in the way they are reacting to what is happening in Palestine and what is happening to all those people, men, women and children, who are being horrifically killed. Atrocities are occurring there that we thought we would never see in our lifetimes. We all heard, read and looked at the stories of the war, and what happened in Nazi Germany and the concentration camps, but I am sure that the majority of us would have liked to think we would never see that again.

I look at the great work that was done on this island in the way people in all the different parties, and none, and all the individuals and religious people, came together and brought us to where we are in Ireland today, where we can sort our differences and problems through political means and negotiations. It is great to see that and that we have peace on this island in that way. We are witnessing the most horrible of awful, horrendous acts that no human being should perpetrate on another. There is no excuse. There is no, "Well, it is all right", because this is completely an example of man's inhumanity against man. To think of innocent children being slaughtered in the way they are is, to be honest, stomach-churning.

We should play our small part in any way we can. We cannot exaggerate the role that we can play, but even the people who are coming out and protesting, in itself sends a message from Ireland. We are only a small country and a neutral one but, at the same time, we are expressing our outrage and horror. As politicians we should not be shouting at each other in the Chamber about what we should or should not do. We should all be of the same voice, which is that we stand for humanity, for people's dignity, for their right to be able to live their lives in peace, and for the protection of innocent children. We should stand together in ensuring our small voice is heard. Of course, the Americans and all these other superpowers in the world have a far greater role to play. To be honest, maybe they are not covering themselves in glory in some instances, but they have to be made see that this is wrong. It is inherently wrong. It is wrong in every aspect. I would like to think that is going out from Dáil Éireann today and, on my part, from County Kerry. As I did last night, I again thank the groups in Killarney, Tralee and throughout County Kerry who marched, the voluntary organisers who spoke so well and so diligently at the market cross in Killarney, people such as Sally MacMonagle, and great concerned activists. They are sincere people who have the best interests of this whole issue at heart and who are rightfully outraged.

I just want to thank those people, as a Kerry representative, for the great work they are doing. We must all stick together on this issue. Thank you very much.

Deputy Michael Collins

This is a war that has caused immense suffering and destruction for the Palestinian people who have been living under a brutal siege and bombardment for more than two months. This is a war that has also threatened the security and the stability of Israel, which has faced relentless rocket attacks and terrorist infiltrations from Hamas. This is a war that has endangered the prospects of peace and justice in the Middle East, which is already a volatile and complex region. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed or injured, where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, and where vital infrastructure has been destroyed, requires an immediate cessation of hostilities and for the international community to uphold its responsibility under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which prohibits acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

However, I also have some reservations about the motion, which I will share. In my view it lacks a balanced perspective on the causes and the consequences of the conflict. The motion focuses almost exclusively on the actions of Israel but it does not adequately address the actions of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza who have also violated international law and human rights. For a comprehensive understanding of the situation we need to consider all sides of the story. Let me be clear that I do not condone or justify any violence against civilians, whether by Israel or by Hamas. I believe both parties have a right to self defence but they also have an obligation to protect civilians and to respect the principles of proportionality and distinction. I also believe that both parties have a responsibility to pursue a peaceful resolution of the conflict based on a two-state solution that recognises the legitimate aspirations and rights of Israelis and Palestinians.

We cannot ignore the fact that Hamas is not a partner for peace. Hamas is a terrorist organisation that seeks to destroy Israel and impose its extremist ideology on the Palestinian people. Hamas has exploited the misery and desperation of Gazans to launch thousands of rockets at Israel's cities, to dig tunnels under Israeli territory, and to carry out suicide bombings and kidnappings. Hamas has also oppressed and impoverished its own people by diverting resources from development to warfare, by imposing harsh restrictions on civil liberties and human rights, and by rejecting any dialogue or compromise with Israel or with the Palestinian Authority.

The previous motion by the Social Democrats some time back here in the Dáil was immature and extremely dangerous and irresponsible politics. They wanted the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. This could have put our own citizens in danger and put us at the forefront of a war outside of our own remit, as such. This is not how peace can be obtained. Open dialogue is always the way to go.

I do not agree with the suggestion that has come up that the Taoiseach should not go to America this year for the traditional 17 March celebrations. I certainly will not agree with that. It is a huge opportunity for the Irish to speak to the President about peace in conflict countries. We would have the opportunity also to promote the many businesses throughout the country, and the American-run businesses here that provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ireland.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion,which is very reasonable. It is a minimalist motion that is simply asking for the Government to take seriously its obligations under the genocide convention and support South Africa in whatever way we see fit really. I cannot think of a more basic motion to remind the Government that it has obligations under the genocide convention.

With regard to the comments from Deputy Michael Collins, let me tell the Deputy that Palestine has been under siege for quite some time. I have the greatest respect for Deputy Collins but if he takes the trouble to read the submission from South Africa on pages 59 to 67 it would leave him in no doubt - not about Hamas who I am on record as condemning - as to what the Israeli President, Prime Minister and all the various members of the Knesset and the army want to do. Just in case he is still in doubt and thinks it is me exaggerating, one Israeli army colonel said: “[w]hoever returns here, if they return here after, will find scorched earth. No houses, no agriculture, no nothing. They have no future;” Another colonel said:

Vengeance is a great value. There is vengeance over what they did to us… This place will be a fallow land. They will not be able to live here.

That is included in the submission to the ICJ from South Africa and that is quoting directly from the original sources.

I stand here today and I am appealing to the Government to do the right thing. It is a basic, simple motion that we stand as a Republic and an independent sovereign State and use our voice while we still have credibility. That credibility is rapidly running out. Last night I asked the Tánaiste a question about what money goes to Ukraine. With the help of his answer and the fact sheet from the EU we know there is €67.7 billion going from the EU member states and European financial institutions to Ukraine in various guises. That is €67.7 billion. I asked what they have done for Gaza and Palestine and the Tánaiste said they were giving money to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA and various organisations. Most of those organisations have been labelled as terrorist by Israel and all of their offices have been raided. Of the 25,295 people dead, 151 were UNRWA workers, supposedly the organisation that we support. In his speech we were told that the people of Palestine cannot wait and yet that is exactly what the Government is doing. We are going to wait to see what the big boys do in Europe to see what motion can be put together. We are not part of the big boys' club. We are an independent sovereign State. We call out when something is wrong and this is wrong. At the very least we should support the proud South African State that has taken this case and stand with it. That is the most basic thing we could do.

Deputy Joan Collins

I thank the Social Democrats for introducing this important motion. It has been put to the House at a critical stage during the terror that is being imposed on the Gazan people. "Israel's military operations have spread mass destruction and killed civilians on a scale unprecedented during my time as secretary-general," are the words of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. During his term he has seen the invasion of Ukraine; bloody civil wars in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia and Sudan; and regional conflicts and insurgencies from Mozambique to Myanmar. It is the actions of the Israeli state against the civilians of Gaza that he finds unprecedented.

Top UN aid official, Martin Griffiths recently talked of Gazans being in search of anything they can get to survive. Bodies are lying on the streets and there is the rapid approach of famine in Gaza. This is a genocide being committed by Israel and it has two prongs. The first is the unprecedented military actions being carried out by the Israeli forces. Today again we heard that the Israeli State has told Gazans to leave Khan Yunis, which was a safe zone they told go people to go to in the first place. The Israel defense forces, IDF, is bombing and killing more civilians. The second prong is the near total deprivation of people in Gaza of food, electricity, water and medicine. The Israeli Government is using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the occupied Gaza Strip. It is deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food and fuel while wilfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to its survival. This is how Human Rights Watch has described the second prong of Israel's genocide. It is death by starvation, death by lack of clean water and death by preventable diseases. The people of Gaza are hurtling towards annihilation. Those who escape the bombs and bullets face death by hunger, thirst and sickness. This is exactly what genocide looks like and we have a moral and legal obligation to stop this. We must support South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice, ICJ. Even if this Government is still refusing to see what is staring them in the face we have an obligation to support the investigation in the ICJ. We do not need to wait. We can call this what it is. We can start a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions led by our State against Israel to force it to stop this genocide and until we have a real meaningful deal for peace, independence and self-determination for all Palestinians.

Deputy Marian Harkin

It is sometimes difficult to know what the best thing to say is when it comes to any discussion on Gaza. There is lots we can say. We have had a number of debates at this point. As I have said, there is plenty to say but the question sometimes is what is the best thing to say. What will help or make any difference to a very difficult situation? To me, the most valuable contribution we could make as a Parliament is to have an agreed position. This would be really strong. It would send a message on this unspeakable conflict, this unspeakable loss of life and, crucially in my view, this diminution of hope that we can find a sustainable peaceful outcome. It makes it even more important that we as a Parliament could find agreed positions.

I am not sure I see this happening, and I take responsibility for my part in it. Yesterday, we had a debate and we are having a debate this morning. We have had various amendments to the resolutions coming in at the last minute and this is democracy. Perhaps I am naïve but to me the issue is well beyond any kind of politics. As a Parliament, we need to have a largely agreed position and to speak with one voice. This requirement is on all of us, myself included.

My time is limited, but I want to say it is important that we take a stand. In this context, I largely support the motion and some of the amendments put forward. I support South Africa in its case to the ICJ under the genocide convention. There is sufficient evidence to make this case. Initially we all condemned the brutal attack by Hamas and then the disproportionate response by Israel. Today, Benjamin Netanyahu is reported as saying to cadets that total victory is the objective. We know what this means. We need to support South Africa's case. In critical situations, we sometimes need to do what we can. In that context, I ask once again that we make renewed and vigorous efforts to get dependents of Irish citizens out of Gaza as quickly as possible.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

I commend the Social Democrats on using their time this week to table this important motion. Once again I stand in the Chamber to plead with the Government to take decisive and meaningful action to stop the genocide happening right before our eyes. To quote Blinne ní Ghrálaigh on behalf of South Africa, this is "the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time." Each day, Palestinians caught in the crossfire haunt our screens, sharing the bloodied faces of their children, their piercing cries of agony sharply cutting through sounds of bombs and explosions. How many more innocent civilian lives must be lost before the Government acts with intent, meaning and substance?

The argument that Israel and its supporters tout is that Israel has a right to defend itself. While this is true, genocide is not an act of self-defence. Collective punishment is not an act of self-defence. These are acts of aggression. These are the acts of a more powerful nation exploiting a nation and a people who cannot defend themselves against the military might of the IDF and their allies. I want to reiterate that Ireland has historically always been on the side of the oppressed and not the oppressor. Our history requires us to see ourselves in the oppressed.

As a proud member of the Good Friday Agreement committee, I attend our meetings every Thursday and we have heard extensively about the architects of that agreement and the bravery those leaders showed at that time. With this in mind, where is this type of bravery from our leaders now? Why is it that responses from the Government seem cold and distant? Has the Government forgotten our history? If so, I can assure it that the Irish people have not. The thousands of emails and phone calls that my office has received from people in my constituency, the Minister of State's constituency and beyond show this. Do not wait until 22 February. Time is of the essence. Act now.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Deputy Peter Burke)

The interventions made this morning have been reflective of the depth of feeling throughout the House and throughout Ireland on this issue. It is impossible for most of us to imagine the scale of the suffering of the Palestinian people, given the catastrophe inflicted by the IDF on the Gaza Strip.

It is important that we remember the suffering of people in the West Bank, where there has been a surge of violence by the Israeli military and by settlers against Palestinians. We should also recall the suffering of all those who lost loved ones in the attacks by Hamas on 7 October, and those who are still held hostage in Gaza.

It has been impossible to escape the horror of what has been happening in Gaza. Day after day we see people who have been killed, the survivors who have lost their families, the injured and the displaced. The images and testimonies of the victims of this violence are harrowing. These people are suffering greatly and the world must demand a ceasefire.

The proceedings at the ICJ initiated by South Africa are continuing. Ireland is a strong supporter of the work of the court and is deeply committed to international law and accountability. Yesterday and today, the Government has outlined the position on making an intervention in the case on the basis of our legal analysis of it in light of any order of provisional measures. Notwithstanding some of the interventions made by Members of this House in the past 24 hours, Ireland remains a leading voice in the search for peace. We are globally recognised as a leading voice on this issue due to our consistent and principled stance. It would be remiss of the Government to undermine this reputation by taking ill-considered steps.

In the European Union, Ireland has played a leading role calling for a durable humanitarian ceasefire. At the EU Foreign Affairs Council earlier this week, the Tánaiste participated in discussions with the Palestinian and Israeli foreign Ministers, as well as those from Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. EU Foreign Ministers heard the Tánaiste's appeal for the EU to speak clearly and consistently in support of a durable ceasefire. The current position of the EU to call for humanitarian pauses is inadequate in the context of the current situation. The Tánaiste will continue to argue that calling for an immediate ceasefire should be the common position for the whole of the EU as it is for the majority of member states. Ireland, along with a number of like-minded member states, is advocating for greater leadership on the part of the EU that better reflects the views of member states, of the global international community and of the EU's fundamental values, including our commitment to peace.

Ireland's position has also been clear and consistent throughout our involvement in international organisations, including in the UN General Assembly and at the UN Security Council. Ireland supported the General Assembly's resolutions that called for a ceasefire. At the UN Security Council open debate yesterday, Ireland intervened to support the work of the UN Secretary General and UN organisations and their staff. The disinformation campaigns by Israeli actors against them have been unwarranted. It is imperative that they are able to carry out their vital work unimpeded.

Ireland used this platform to reiterate our condemnation of the brutal actions of Hamas on 7 October and to call for the cessation of indiscriminate rocket attacks and the immediate release of all hostages. As a strong supporter of international law and the multilateral system, Ireland believes there should be accountability for the actions of states when they breach international law. The right to self-defence can only be exercised in line with international humanitarian law. As in all armed conflicts, the principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality, as well as the prohibition on collective punishment, apply. All actors, including non-state actors, have binding obligations under international law, which prohibits targeting civilians.

For the people of the Gaza Strip, their most urgent need is an immediate ceasefire and a vast increase in humanitarian aid. Their situation is dire and continues to worsen. We have already heard that more than 25,000 people have been killed. More than 60,000 people have also been injured and many are without access to the medical treatment they desperately need. The casualties of this continued onslaught are enormous. Each number represents a life ended or irrevocably altered. The numbers grieving are greater still, and they include people here in Ireland with loved ones killed, injured or displaced in the Gaza Strip.

Most of the population of Gaza has been displaced.

The Gazan authorities report that the Israeli military has destroyed or damaged over 60% of homes. Israel continues to destroy infrastructure in Gaza, including health and education establishments. The population is now under threat, not only from military force but from starvation and preventable diseases. Horrifyingly, in the midst of such medical need, only 16 of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain even partially functional. It is vital that the people of Gaza be able to get necessary medical treatment. It is appalling that not enough medical supplies are getting through and that hospitals are still being damaged. Additionally, the availability of safe water in Gaza continues to diminish. The supply of fresh water affects not only drinking water but also washing and sewerage. Palestinians in Gaza are suffering soaring rates of infectious diseases. The World Health Organization has issued dire warnings about the potential combination of a lack of proper sanitation, hunger and the collapsing health system on the population, not only now but in the decades to come as the long-term effects of this level of deprivation continue. The supply of water, food, medicine and fuel into Gaza must be increased drastically. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and cannot be allowed to deteriorate further. It is vital that provision be made for more aid to enter.

In the shadow of such devastation, it is important not to forget the appalling situation in the West Bank, which is extremely concerning. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, since 7 October, 358 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including eight killed by violent settlers. Since 2005 when the UN's records began, 2023 has been the year with the highest number of Palestinian casualties in the West Bank.

It is crucial we be live to the threat of a further regional escalation of the conflict. The attacks by the Houthis in Yemen on civilian shipping in the Red Sea not only put lives and crews at risk but have a detrimental impact on global trade, the knock-on effects of which hurt the poorest. I am deeply aware of the continuing tense situation along the blue line between Israel and Lebanon. We cannot allow a further escalation of violence, which would have a catastrophic effect.

Ireland continues to do all we can to call for an immediate ceasefire. We must prevent the conflict from continuing. The conflict will not only result in further deaths but also prolong the cycles of violence that have plagued the region for generations. We must not lose sight of the prospect of a peaceful and secure future for all the people in the region, however distant that might seem. The first step is a ceasefire now without delay.

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan

Khaled Kamal Abdel Aziz Rashwan was 34 years old. Rose Ramez Amin Hassouna was 21 years old. Samir Rajab Muhammed Al-Saafin was 62 years old. Amr Mostafa Amin Nofal was 12 years old. Maria Amjad Majed Abu Odeh was five years old. Fatima Muhammad Ali Abu Omra was 91 years old. Janan Hamed Nasser Al-Astal was one year old. Every single person that has been killed in Gaza has a name, a face and a story. They were people with hopes and dreams for the future they have been robbed of. The slaughter of innocent people in Gaza by Israel has been nothing short of shameful for humanity. The lack of a response from the international community has also been shameful. We need Israel to face real consequences for its savagery. The impunity of the State of Israel must end. The Israeli Government and military must be held to account for the murder of innocent civilians.

The Social Democrats Party has unequivocally condemned the horrific and brutal murder by Hamas of 1,400 people and the kidnappings of 7 October - the Taoiseach's attempts yesterday to suggest otherwise were disingenuous and misleading - but these do not in any way justify the ongoing horrific attacks on the civilian population. A total of 25,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 100,000 have been reported wounded, missing or killed in Gaza since Israel began its military offensive. More than 1 million people are starving in Gaza and 2.2 million are at imminent risk of famine, a situation that has never occurred in the history of this planet in respect of a war of just four months. There is a lack of clean, safe drinking water and sanitation. The public healthcare system has collapsed. Schools, universities, hospitals, refugee camps and UN facilities have been targeted. All the while, senior members of the Israeli Government have made repeated statements of genocidal intent. The destruction has been so extreme that, as the South African case notes, Gaza is now a different colour when viewed from space. The President of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, is among those Israelis who write handwritten messages on the bombs being dropped on and murdering civilians in Gaza. On 13 October, the then Israeli Minister of Energy stated, "We will win. They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world." This was a comment from a member of the Israeli Government. A former Israeli army general, Mr. Giora Eiland, stated, "Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist." These are the words coming from the Israeli military and the Israeli Government.

Ten children are losing one or more limbs per day. UNICEF has called this a war on children. A total of 350,000 Palestinian homes in Gaza have been destroyed, representing 60% of its entire housing stock, and 61 hospitals and healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed with weapons supplied by the US.

The South African case reads:

Large numbers of Palestinian civilians, including children, have reportedly been arrested, blindfolded, forced to undress and remain outside in the cold weather, before being forced on to trucks and taken to unknown locations. Medics and first responders, in particular, have been repeatedly detained by Israeli forces, with many being detained incommunicado at unknown locations.

I will ask our Government just one question. What on earth is it waiting for before it says it will join South Africa’s case and take every possible action to call out what is happening in Gaza?

Deputy Holly Cairns

I was not expecting much from the Government today, but it actually managed to sink beneath my already low expectations. I am shocked it decided to amend our motion in this way. Not only did it amend the motion, it rewrote it in its entirety. I would encourage people to read our motion. It contained a series of indisputable and horrifying statistics about the depths of the slaughter and depravity being inflicted on the Palestinian people. It noted some facts about the Genocide Convention and the International Court of Justice. It made a simple call – to support South Africa in its efforts to hold Israel accountable for its massacre as a matter of urgency.

There were other elements in our motion that the Government preferred the Dáil not recognise. We noted the disturbing genocidal statements that have been made by senior Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister, the President and the Minister of Defense. The Irish Government’s amendment erases this reference from the record. Why does the Government not want to acknowledge those statements? Does it not concern the Government to hear Israeli officials openly cheering the devastation in Gaza while referring to Palestinians as human animals?

Our motion also made specific reference to the 2,000 lb bombs that Israel is dropping on densely populated areas in Gaza.

There is no reference to the bombs in the Government's amendment, so let me tell this House a bit about them. They have a lethal fragmentation radius of up to 365 m, which is equivalent in size to 58 soccer fields. Shrapnel from those bombs can kill men, women and children who are standing nowhere near the impact site. They leave craters in the ground that are more than 40 ft wide. These bombs are not being used sparingly. A New York Times investigation found they had been used on hundreds of occasions on an area half the size of County Louth. How can any country claim it does not have genocidal intent when it is dropping bombs of that enormous size and lethality in densely populated areas, where 50% of the population are children? Why does this Government not want to refer to them in this motion?

The Tánaiste was not here to listen to our motion today. He sent the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, in his place, who read his script and then left. This is the level of respect the Government has for this debate. I listened carefully to the Minister before he legged it. He spoke about how the Government was hoping there would be moves at EU level to impose sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank. When the Tánaiste talks about holding Israel to account, is this actually what he means? Prolonged efforts to try to impose a travel ban on violent settlers have failed to be agreed so far. To give some idea and context concerning how pathetic this is, I would just like to put on the record that the US, Israel's greatest ally, has already imposed those travel bans. Biden did it weeks ago. In case the Government did not know this, the entire Israeli Government is full of violent settlers. The country's Minister of National Security handed out automatic rifles to them at the very start of this conflict.

Spare us, then, the attempt to disguise this lack of action. The Government talks about holding the Israeli Government to account but it has failed at every single opportunity to do so. It will not support South Africa at the International Court of Justice. It will not lobby for economic sanctions at an EU level. It will not refer a case to the International Criminal Court. It will not withdraw the diplomatic status of the ambassador and it will not pass the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 or the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023. Words are not enough. The Government not only should act; it has a legal obligation to act under the Genocide Convention. It is refusing to do so. Instead, it is erasing our motion with its proposed amendment. I have to say the Government should at least have had the courage of its convictions and just voted against our motion.

It is a disgrace we are sitting on the fence, watching this happen and not taking action. The people out there who want action from the Government on this issue can see straight through its efforts to avoid taking action. What was the intent behind the rushed, last-minute, after 10 o'clock at night announcement that the Government was ripping up the Dáil schedule for the week to bring in its own motion on Gaza in advance of the Social Democrats motion today? It is saying the same thing as it has been saying for ages, namely, calling for a ceasefire and things like that but taking no steps to prevent what is happening with an action, and simply saying today and yesterday that it cannot intervene at this early stage. The Government should read the language in our motion. Other countries have signalled their intention to intervene. You do not signal your intention to intervene and then walk into the International Court of Justice tomorrow. Preparatory work must take place in advance of doing that. We are calling on the Government to start that work now and to signal its intention to support South Africa like other countries have signalled their intention to support Israel.

Amendment to amendment put.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Pauline Tully)

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time this evening.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 11.55 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 11.55 a.m. and resumed at 12 p.m.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 24 Jan 2024

Gaza and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: Motion [Private Members]

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 24 Jan 2024