Matt Carthy
Ceist:144. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he condemns the actions of Israel in Gaza that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians. [53017/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 30 November 2023
Ceisteanna (144, 146)
Matt Carthy
Ceist:146. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he proposes to take any measures, such as diplomatic, economic, trade, legal or political, against the Israeli Government in response to the ongoing breaches of international law by the State of Israel. [53018/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (15 píosaí cainte)
Will the Tánaiste condemn the actions of Israel in Gaza that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians?
I propose to take Question Nos. 144 and 146 together.
I thank the Deputy for tabling these questions. I want to start by offering my condolences to the families of the three people who were killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem this morning. I unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism. I also want to offer my condolences to the families of the two children killed in Jenin yesterday during an operation by the Israeli security services, which I also condemn.
Ireland has been consistently clear that the protection of civilians must be paramount. Such protection is an obligation under international humanitarian law. There must be accountability for civilian deaths. The loss of life in the conflict in Gaza has been horrendous. Thousands of civilians, including children, have been killed. That is why I have consistently called for a sustainable humanitarian ceasefire. The conflict must end.
I have been clear from the beginning of this crisis that any response by Israel to the terrorist attacks by Hamas must fully comply with international law, including international humanitarian law. This has been the cornerstone of my bilateral engagement with partners in the region, including Israel, as well as my engagement at European Union and international level.
Earlier this week, I attended a meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean at which I stressed that the truce should be extended. Gaza’s civilian population cannot be allowed to suffer any further. It is unconscionable that the war would resume. This is consistent with Ireland’s approach to the crisis from the outset. There can be no purely military solution to this conflict. We must lay the foundation for a credible pathway to peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
I have also repeatedly underlined the need for respect for international humanitarian law. I have clearly condemned any and all breaches of international humanitarian law by any party in this conflict, Hamas or Israel, and I repeat that now. International humanitarian law applies to all armed conflicts, without exception. This includes the prohibition on the targeting of civilians, the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality, the prohibition on collective punishment and the prohibition on the taking of hostages and the use of human shields.
All actors, state and non-state alike, must abide by their obligations. Any potential breaches should be investigated thoroughly and the perpetrators brought to account. In this context, I welcome the confirmation by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that he is actively investigating the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Ensuring effective accountability is a central part of Ireland’s foreign policy. Impartial and independent investigations into breaches of international humanitarian law are essential. This is why we announced two weeks ago an additional voluntary contribution of €3 million to the International Criminal Court.
The interest and engagement of this House regarding the situation in Gaza is both welcome and appropriate, but there is a continued emphasis on proposed unilateral actions by Ireland. Pursuing such an approach would simply diminish Ireland’s impact and influence. In this context, I would again recall that Ireland does not impose any unilateral sanctions regimes; rather, we implement United Nations and European Union sanctions. At EU level, the most credible and effective approach is for Ireland to continue to work to influence the European Union’s collective position. The central pillars of the European Union position remain valid. These include the clear EU position that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, our ongoing concern regarding the rising level of settler violence in the West Bank, and the need for practical steps back towards a credible pathway to a political process and a two-state solution.
The European Union has quadrupled its humanitarian aid to the Palestinians to €100 million this year. I intend to continue to advocate within the EU for a more robust position on a humanitarian ceasefire, building on the welcome pause in hostilities that has seen hostages released and an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza. I also intend to discuss with like-minded member states other potential actions the European Union can take, including in respect of the situation in the West Bank. I note, for instance, President Biden's comments on the willingness on the US side to consider targeted travel bans against violent settlers who are actively involved in displacing Palestinian communities. I condemn recent announcements of funding for illegal settlements, which undermine the two-state solution.
I thank the Tánaiste. He will have a chance to come back in.
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I want to raise a technical objection. Questions Nos. 144 and 146 are two distinct questions I had submitted for priority. Taking them together means that while the Tánaiste had twice as long to answer, there is not the same opportunity for me in terms of supplementary questions.
The truth is there has not been an explicit condemnation by the Government of actions by Israel in Gaza, and that is regrettable. These things matter. The world is watching, and many in the global south, in particular, are looking at what they consider to be European double standards in the responses to some conflicts as opposed to others and in the words that are uttered. We need to be consistent in our approach. When international law, including international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter are being breached, we should call that out and condemn those actions as breaches of international law.
I take it from the Tánaiste's response, although it was not as clear as I would have liked-----
The Deputy will have eight minutes to respond. It is four minutes for each of the questions. I apologise for interrupting him.
No problem. I appreciate that.
The recognition that Israel has breached international law has not been as explicit as I believe it should be, but I think there was an implicit recognition in the Tánaiste's remarks that Israel has, indeed, breached international law and continues to do so. I would argue strongly that it was in breach of international law long before the events of 7 October, given it has been engaged in a campaign of annexation, occupation and whole-scale discrimination against the Palestinian people that I would describe as apartheid, based on the report of Amnesty International and others.
The question arises as to what we should do about it. The Tánaiste says we should do whatever it is that the EU is willing to do. I read in The Irish Times that the EU is agreeing to give the highest level ever of development aid to Israel this year. This is a state that, as we speak, is planning to return to the whole-scale bombardment of civilians and civilian infrastructure in a military operation that has resulted in the deaths of more than 5,000 children. That is not acceptable. We need to do more. Of course, we have to try to get the EU and other multilateral institutions to do more, but we also need to stand on our own two feet and Ireland needs to take action. It was quite pathetic that the Irish ambassador to Israel was hauled before its foreign ministry to receive a dressing-down over a tweet. In essence, this means Israel has taken a harder diplomatic stance against Ireland for a social media post than Ireland has taken against Israel for the whole-scale bombardment of a civilian population that has resulted in the mass carnage we have seen in Gaza. I do not think that is acceptable.
There are measures that can be taken. We see in every Department - I tabled a parliamentary question on this to the Department of enterprise - that the approvals given for interactions in respect of the dual use of military equipment from Ireland to Israel have increased sixfold this year. Rather than Ireland taking action against Israel, therefore, Israel is acting with impunity because nobody is willing to take any actions whatsoever. My appeal to the Tánaiste is for Ireland to take action. He has rejected virtually everything that has come before the Dáil in the form of propositions to take action. What will he do, in real terms, to respond to the carnage in Gaza?
I think the Deputy's presentation, frankly, is politically dishonest. He says the world and the global south are watching and accusing us of double standards. They do not accuse Ireland of double standards at all. I have met representatives of all the Arab states in the region and I have met those from African states. Whenever it comes to talking about the Middle East, they make an exception for Ireland's position and that of a number of other member states. It is not fair to say what the Deputy said. Those countries may accuse others within Europe of double standards. They do not accuse Ireland of double standards.
The most negative rhetoric about Ireland and Palestine is in this House or is whipped up on social media. I saw a lot of it last week following my visit to the Middle East, when much of it was fake news and disinformation, which the Deputy's party piled onto. I looked, for interest's sake, at who was doing all the trolling and so on. It is a very dishonest campaign by his party. It seems its main interest in this is how its members can gain an electoral advantage out of the horrific situation that is the Middle East right now. I think its proposals to end diplomatic relations were incoherent and irresponsible. They made no sense in the context of trying to get Irish citizens out of Gaza, getting hostages released or getting a resolution to this. We have to maintain diplomatic channels and diplomatic relations. I have seen very little credible positioning from the Deputy's party.
Ireland does stand on its own two feet on this issue. We have consistently condemned breaches of UN resolutions and humanitarian law by Israel. We have made a robust submission to the International Criminal Court regarding the resolution passed at the UN with respect to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Deputy ignores all that as if it never happened. We voted for the Arab resolution and were one of eight EU member states to do so, where the EU did not have a unified position on that Arab resolution at the UN at the commencement of this war. The Deputy ignores all that and reduces the whole argument to sound bites and sloganeering with a view to smearing people on this side of the House and accusing them of this, that and the other, which is a very unfair presentation of the issue. We do not just do whatever the EU is doing. I know the Deputy's party has a strong anti-European Union position, so any chance it gets to attack the European Union, it does that. I have made the point that the EU has quadrupled humanitarian aid to the Palestinians to €100 million.
I did not and do not support the initiative and actions taken by Commissioner Várhelyi in respect of endeavouring to review aid to the Palestinians, and we spoke up strongly about that. As a result of us and others speaking up, we got a very different result on that front. I do not have an issue with opposing antisemitic behaviour or the allocation of funding to prevent antisemitic behaviour. I do not approve of using development assistance in that regard, but I have no issues with any initiatives the EU will take to reduce antisemitic behaviour and promote tolerance. That is important and I am sure the Deputy would agree. I take his point about mechanisms that are being used, and we have issues with that too.
We sought further clarity in respect of the use of that, but if it is for initiatives to stop anti-semitism, we have an open mind on it. We are supportive of anti-semitic initiatives.
I was taken by surprise myself with the two questions being amalgamated. The Deputy has one minute - both sides are gaining a little time.
I am disappointed that the Tánaiste used the word "dishonest" to characterise Sinn Féin's interactions on this. He has obviously been selective in what Sinn Féin utterances or otherwise he has been reading. I have publicly commended, both nationally and internationally, the positions Ireland has taken. I have commended the Tánaiste's words specifically in this House and outside it. That does not mean I do not have a right to ask him to go further in terms of actions. I consider that to be an entirely logical transposition of what he has said. I do not appreciate at all the suggestion I am being dishonest and I do not accept there is some kind of political motivation. The Irish people simply want the bombardment in Gaza to stop. There is a natural affinity with the people of Palestine that is long-standing and they want Ireland to take actions to help bring the bombardment to an end.
Thank you Deputy. I call the on the Tánaiste to conclude.
I am simply asking what those concrete actions will be that will impose sanction on Israel for what it has done.
Deputy, I have given great discretion.
I want all the violence to end. That is why I went to Israel. It was not only to help to get Irish citizens out of Gaza, who at that stage had not left. It was also to speak directly with the Israeli Government and say we believe a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way and to put our point of view. We also went to other states and to Ramallah in the West Bank as well. Members of Deputy Carthy's party attacked me wholesale for going to Israel.
No-----
You did. Not Deputy Carthy personally, but his party did. The Deputy should go through it - the party's councillors, TDs and everyone did. I was accused of complicity and whatever.
Suffice it to say we both agree on the need for this war to end. As I said earlier, it would be unconscionable for the war to resume. Too many lives have been lost, including those of too many innocent civilians. The International Criminal Court is there. Sinn Féin also misrepresented that two or three weeks ago. The prosecutor is on the ground and has said he will investigate. That is where the case has to be. We have taken a practical step in giving the ICC substantial resources to enable it to do so.