Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2023
219. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the prospects for a two state solution given the new Israeli Governments' stated position that Jews alone have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the land of Israel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9419/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the position to which the Deputy refers and would recall that it is Ireland’s long-standing position that policies and practices of successive Israeli governments relating to illegal settlements and their expansion, as well as expulsions, forced transfers and demolitions, undermine prospects for a two-State solution, and are a major obstacle to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace.
The continued establishment and expansion of settlements is a violation of international law and is unacceptable. Ireland reiterated this position at the UN Security Council on 19 December, which focused on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2334. On that occasion, Ireland also led a joint press statement by a number of States demanding that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in that regard.
It is deeply concerning that the stated intentions of the Israeli Government continue to show disregard for the clear international consensus around this issue. It is important that the international community supports the Palestinian Authority in its recourse to legal and political responses to the occupation. In this regard, I welcome that the UN Security Council adopted, by consensus on 20 February, a Presidential Statement addressing a number of concerning recent developments. In this Statement, the Council expresses its opposition to “all unilateral measures that impede peace, including, inter alia, Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, confiscation of Palestinians’ land, and the ‘legalization’ of settlement outposts, demolition of Palestinians’ homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians”. The EU High Representative High Representative for Foreign Affairs has also condemned the decision by the Israeli Government to “legalise”, under Israeli law, nine settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.
Ireland remains committed to supporting all efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting two-State solution, with the Jerusalem as the capital of both States, on the basis of international law and agreed international parameters.
