Middle East Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 June 2017

Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Ceisteanna (148)

Seán Crowe

Ceist:

148. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Israeli Government Ministers have called for an increase in the number of illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied Syrian Golan by 100,000 over a five year period; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that in 2016 the Israeli Government approved the construction of 1,600 new illegal colonial settlement units in the Golan; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that due to discriminatory housing policies, Syrians are forced to build without permits risking fines and the full or partial demolition of the building in order to meet their housing needs (details supplied); if he will raise this issue with the Israeli Government; and the steps he is taking to ensure that the EU is raising these and related issues with the Israeli Government through its current political dialogue and will do so during the EU Israel Association Council meeting if it takes place later in 2017. [30510/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

In the occupied Syrian Golan, as in the West Bank, the introduction and settlement of communities of the occupying power, to alter the demography of the area, is clearly illegal under international law. It also inherently involves violations of the rights of the occupied population, in terms of seizure of land, discriminatory treatment and other restrictions. The same wide range of tactics are also used by the Israeli authorities to advance this process under a cloak of legality, including planning laws, zoning, military use, national parks etc. None of these measures can alter the fact that the whole process is illegal.

The Government has consistently and repeatedly conveyed these concerns to the Israeli authorities, and highlighted them in our interventions at EU, UN and international level. I will continue to avail of every appropriate opportunity to pursue these issues. It is beyond the means of my Department, however, to attempt to track and take action on every report of specific decisions involved in this process.

Our concerns over these policies are most acute in relation to the West Bank, where they are making impossible the achievement of a peace agreement and the establishment of a Palestinian state. By contrast, it is generally acknowledged that any comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arab states will involve the return of the Golan area to Syria.

My primary focus in relation to Syria at present is of course on the appalling violence, destruction and slaughter afflicting the Syrian people across much of the rest of the country.