Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2017
114. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress he has had raising the issue of the Israeli settlement in the Golan at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, including the lack of EU funds available to NGOs in the area and the lack of meaningful statements from the EU regarding the situation in that area. [53172/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the extension of Israeli settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan, and of the broader difficulties faced by the people in this area, which are certainly a cause for concern. Officials from my Department have recently met with NGOs operating in the Golan, and remain in contact with them.
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 illegal under international law. The process of establishing settlements inevitably involves violations of the rights of the occupied population, through seizure of their land, discriminatory treatment and other restrictions. Tactics including planning laws, zoning, military use, national parks etc. are used by the Israeli authorities to advance this process under a cloak of legality. None of these measures can alter the fact that the whole process is illegal.
The Government has consistently and repeatedly conveyed these concerns about land use, demolitions and settlements in general to the Israeli authorities, and highlighted them in our interventions at EU, UN and international level. In addition, I raised these concerns directly in the context of my visit to Israel and Palestine in July, and I raised them again with Prime Minister Netanyahu in our meeting with him in Brussels on Monday. I will continue to avail of every appropriate opportunity to pursue them. In general, we address these issues in relation to the occupied territory as a whole, seeking to improve the protections of all the people living under that occupation, including in the Golan area.
Ireland’s concerns over these policies are most acute in relation to the West Bank, where the continued construction of settlements on occupied land is dangerously undermining the prospects for a peace agreement and the establishment of a Palestinian state, and this has been the focus of my international engagement on the settlements issue, both bilaterally and at EU level. 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. This does not lessen the obligation on Israel to treat the community there in accordance with international law so long as the occupation remains in being.
