Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
153. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide an update regarding his engagements with EU Foreign Affairs Ministers in relation to the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50163/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra156. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the effort he is making to secure a ceasefire in Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50156/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra157. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the recent engagements he has had with US government representatives regarding the Israeli bombardment of Gaza; to what extent these discussions were about a roadmap to ceasefire in which US support would be crucial; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49936/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra178. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs how Ireland can help achieve an end to the current wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50272/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra184. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures he and his Department are taking to bring about a call for a ceasefire in Palestine from other European states; the interactions he and the Department have had with their EU and Israeli counterparts to achieve this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50207/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra215. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he could provide an update on the current situation in Gaza; and the actions the Irish Government is taking at both EU and UN levels to contribute to a resolution of the ongoing issues in the region. [50222/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI ask the Tánaiste to provide an update regarding his engagement with EU Foreign Affairs Ministers in regard to the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 153, 156, 157, 178, 184 and 215 together.
I thank the Deputy for raising the question. I have been engaging intensively with EU, regional and international partners since the beginning of this crisis in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. During all of these engagements, I have conveyed the same message: there is an urgent need for a sustainable humanitarian ceasefire and a significant scale-up of humanitarian access and supplies into Gaza.
Immediately following the attack by Hamas, I attended an extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 10 October to discuss the ongoing violence on the ground in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. I underlined the importance of principled and collective action by the EU and its member states and the need for the EU to act for the protection of civilians and adherence to international law.
In subsequent meetings of the EU Foreign Affairs Council during October and November, I emphasised that a purely military approach was unworkable and called on my counterparts to urge for a humanitarian ceasefire. I shared my serious concerns with my EU counterparts about the situation in Gaza. I stressed the need for the EU response to evolve as the situation evolves. On 1 November, I spoke bilaterally to the EU High Representative and discussed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
I travelled to the region from 14 to 16 November. During this visit I met Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen, to whom I reiterated Ireland’s unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas terror attack on 7 October, expressed my grave concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and reiterated my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. I also met the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, during which I stressed the urgent need to dramatically increase the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza. During this visit I also met with my Palestinian and Egyptian counterparts and the prime minister of Palestine. I will continue to advocate for a clear position from the EU, which emphasises the need for a sustainable humanitarian ceasefire and remains alive to the evolving situation.
Ireland's actions have also reflected our strong commitment to multilateralism. On Monday of this week, I attended the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona alongside EU and regional partners. The focus of this year’s forum was the conflict in Gaza. I underlined the need for the current truce, which has seen the release of hostages, including Emily Hand, to be extended, as well as the need to focus on a credible pathway to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also took the opportunity to meet with a number of my counterparts, including the Lebanese, Saudi, Turkish, Belgian, Slovenian and Luxembourg foreign ministers.
At the United Nations Security Council open debate on 24 October, Ireland called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and welcomed the initial supply of aid stressing that far more was needed. Ireland supported the Jordanian-led United Nations General Assembly Resolution on 27 October, which called for a humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities. This resolution addresses steps that must be implemented with the utmost urgency in order to protect civilian lives and increase the provision of humanitarian aid.
Since the start of this crisis, in my engagements with partners that have influence in the region, I have conveyed the message that urgent de-escalation is needed and that humanitarian access and supplies into Gaza must be prioritised. I have spoken with my Iranian counterpart and urged him in the strongest terms to bring his influence to bear in avoiding regional escalation and in insisting on the immediate and unconditional release of hostages. I have also engaged with the Lebanese defence minister as well as my Jordanian, Qatari and Emirati counterparts.
I welcome the role that other partners have been playing through diplomatic efforts to avoid a regional escalation. I welcome the intensive efforts of the United States, including visits by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the region to engage with regional partners. In addition, I commend the efforts of the United States, Qatar and Egypt in securing the recent truce agreement. Their work highlights the value, and the necessity, of effective diplomacy.
It is also important that our efforts aimed at addressing the immediate crisis also lay the foundation for a pathway towards a sustainable peace in the long term. I will continue to underline this point in my ongoing engagement with EU, regional and international partners.
It is fair to say that most fair-minded people in this Chamber are appalled by the terrible suffering and the inhumane conditions experienced by all the citizens of Gaza and beyond in the current conflict. I have listened to the Tánaiste over the past few weeks emphasise the importance of diplomacy and this has been demonstrated over the past number of weeks. From an EU perspective, it is always difficult to get 27 member states to agree a common policy platform but the one thing Europe needs to remain is united against terrorism but also united for peace. I note that the Tánaiste spoke about different countries' historical perspectives on the current conflict and how this has influenced and shaped their policy. I know it sounds a bit funny to be talking about a two-state solution when we are really emphasising a ceasefire but could the Tánaiste share where other countries in the EU are regarding a two-state solution?
I agree with the Tánaiste's comments on the West Bank. The West Bank is clearly of huge concern. It is not in the public eye as much because, understandably, people are focused on what is happening - the slaughter in the Gaza Strip. I understand that this morning at rush hour, two gunmen jumped out of a car in Jerusalem, opened fire and killed three people. I think the Tánaiste referenced that. Three civilians were killed and many others were wounded. Yesterday in the West Bank, two Palestinian children were murdered, one of whom was just nine years of age. It is painfully clear that it is innocent Palestinian and Israeli children who are paying the price for the crimes of Hamas and the Israeli Government. A ceasefire is really important but it does not seem as though the EU really believes in a ceasefire and a settlement when you contrast its actions against Russia and its actions against Israel.
There is a considerable amount of agreement. We are all very glad there is a temporary ceasefire. The problem is that it is temporary. It is a reprieve from what has been a brutal slaughter of Palestinians by the Israelis. We need to make sure everything that can be done regarding extending this is done. Hopefully, it will be extended beyond a permanent ceasefire and will involve a negotiated settlement with all the difficulties that exist.
The interaction with the Americans is vital. The US has provided not only weapons but cover for what Israel has done. The US has either supported Israel wholesale or has been unable to control the Israeli regime. The Tánaiste spoke about the West Bank. We know what the regime is like there. We lost an opportunity when Yitzhak Rabin was killed by Yigal Amir. Unfortunately, this is the regime with the politics of Yigal Amir. I will deal with the EU afterwards but we need to make sure the US goes back to what it did with the Oslo Accords with then President Bill Clinton.
I commend the Tánaiste for the work he has done on this issue. He has represented the country on this matter with distinction, particularly since 7 October. His recent visit to the Middle East helped. The situation is very difficult. I condemn the depravity we have seen from Hamas and the Israeli response, which involves the indiscriminate killing of so many thousands of people, particularly children, over the past number of weeks. The approach taken by the Tánaiste and the approach he is advocating at European level is the right approach. It is the only way we are going to get a lasting peace in the region. Since this question was tabled, thankfully, we have seen a ceasefire. It is temporary and we need to continue the work to ensure it becomes permanent. It is a very dark stain on humanity that requires all of our attention.
I thank the Deputies for their kind comments and appreciate their supportive comments. In response to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, EU member states are supportive of a two-state solution. The issue is how we follow through on it and give heft and a sense of urgency to bringing it about. Part of that will be pressure on the Israeli Government to move on what is happening in the West Bank. It was very clear from my visit there before this conflict erupted when I went to Jordan and spoke to refugees and spoke to a Bedouin family in Ramallah that had been displaced by settlers. I spoke to a young child whose school had been attacked by the settlers and the threats and intimidation were simply unacceptable. The level of support given by the Israeli Government to these settlers is also unacceptable. The Israeli Government would say to me that only a small minority is engaging in the aggression and violence but that is certainly not the perception on the ground in the West Bank. If we are to have a contiguous viable two-state solution, international pressure to stop what is going on in the West Bank is urgently required.
I welcome the comments of President Joe Biden in respect of the idea of travel bans on some of the settlers. It is the beginning of sanctions in relation to aggressive and violent settlement activity that has been happening in the West Bank for quite some time, particularly in Area C. We are talking about a very small territory here, and it is not viable that one would have independent pockets of Palestinian population because that constitutes a Palestinian state. It has to be a contiguous Palestinian state. All of this was worked out, as has been said, in previous agreements such as the Oslo Accords.
I am satisfied that the United States is doing everything it can to restrain Israel in the context of its activities. US Secretary of State Blinken is again in the region pushing hard for an extension to the truce but we need to keep pushing to make sure that it is a permanent ceasefire because, as every Deputy in the House has pointed out, the bombardment of Gaza is killing innocent children. It is killing innocent families and civilians. Given the scale and the type of weaponry and bombs being deployed, there can be no doubt but that the consequences of that is the killing of innocent people. The International Criminal Court is there. It is on the ground investigating. There is an urgent need for a permanent ceasefire.
Israel has a right to deal with Hamas because Hamas proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the security concerns being articulated by Israel are very real in terms of the slaughter that happened in the various kibbutzim following the Hamas attack on 7 October. Ultimately, there may have to be some international dimension to providing for that security into the future in the event of a credible roadmap returning.
In answer the original question from Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, internationally, there is a sense now that this cannot be let go again and that there has to be a sustained focus on trying to chart a way out of this horror some credible pathway to peace. That is what all of us are focused on to make the best contribution that we can. In response to Deputy Griffin, that is the approach that we are determined to take to avoid any further bloodshed. For instance, we need humanitarian aid on scale into Gaza now. Even prior to the conflict, it would not suffice. Therefore, we need much more. The only way one can do that is by a truce.
The Tánaiste is correct. As an observer to what is going on from the outside, I suppose many countries have shifted in their attitudes and their outlook in regards to the conflict over the past few weeks.
At the Union for the Mediterranean meeting that was attended by High Representative, Mr. Josep Borrell, and the Tánaiste attended, it was agreed that, ultimately, a two-state solution will be the resolution to the conflict that is there and will follow on, and there will have to be a roadmap in place, as the Tánaiste has articulated. It is important to stress that whomever governs Palestine into the future, be it the Palestinian Authority or, as the Tánaiste alluded to, if it is done involving, possibly, an international dimension, there is a need for significant humanitarian investment. Improving trade, as the Tánaiste also articulated, is something that will, I hope, lead to a lasting peace. In the context of the meeting last week, there was one significant absentee, namely, Israel. It would have been helpful if the Israelis had been present.
I agree with much of what the Tánaiste said in his analysis of the situation in the West Bank. Clearly, the illegal settlements are a huge block to any sort of development of any peace process or two-state solution.
The Tánaiste mentioned humanitarian aid on numerous occasions. Of course, I welcome that. It is really important. The difficulty is that when Israel destroys that humanitarian aid that has been allocated to Palestinians, blows it up or wrecks it, there are no consequences for Israel doing that. The illegal settlements are an ongoing issue. There are no consequences for the development of those settlements. When will we see moves that will facilitate a balanced solution to bring about peace?
The killing of children in the West Bank and the fact that there have been budgetary moves by the Israelis to provide new moneys for new settlements tell us where this particular regime sands. The Tánaiste said it - there is international pressure on and particularly from America, but also from the European Union.
I attended a COSAC conference in Madrid recently. I would not be too impressed with statements from parties across Europe, some of which would be progressive on many issues. People make comments about anti-terrorist operations against Hamas in a way that it is as if 6,000 Palestinian children had not already been killed. I am not taking away from the difficulties involved in delivering at European level, but we know there is a small group of countries that have similar notions to ourselves in the context of humanitarianism.
I welcome what the Tánaiste said about a structured agreement with the Palestinians. We need to look at the Israel-EU Association Agreement. We may need to make moves ourself if we cannot get people to move but it will be good if the Tánaiste can get into the interactions with those countries that are similar to ourself in wanting to see something that will deliver a roadmap.
I agree with Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan it was regrettable that Israel was not present at the Union for Mediterranean regional forum last Monday. I picked up a determined approach from the Arab states that were available and other states in terms of the need for a credible pathway to peace. Egypt and Jordan's foreign ministers in particular have been active on this and put a lot of effort into a rational analysis of what is transpiring. For them, the principles are clear. There can be no displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and no attempt to say that we would move the problem into Sinai or elsewhere. For those countries, it is existential. Jordan has 2.5 million Palestinians already as refugees.
Do we agree with that?
Yes. I have said that repeatedly. That is a European Union position. There cannot be displacement of Palestinians. There cannot be reoccupation of Gaza by Israel. Europe agrees with that principle. The High Representative, Mr. Borrell, has made that point, but we believe there should be a Palestinian Authority in Gaza delivering services to Gazans, from medical health to education. That should be led by Palestinians. For obvious reasons in terms of what has transpired, Europe does not agree that it should be a Hamas-controlled authority. Then there has to be some dimension around security and how best to provide for that into the future so that everybody can act into the future with some degree of security. That also means really fundamental change in what is happening in the West Bank regarding settlements. To say the least, the nature of the current composition of the Israeli Government has created a lot of challenges to all of this.
