Ireland, the European Union and other international partners, including the United States, are absolutely clear that Gaza is an integral part of a future Palestinian state. There can be no forced displacement of the civilian population of Gaza, nor occupation of the strip by Israel. All Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.
I have also made it absolutely clear in my engagement with Israel as well as with partners within the European Union and in the region that respect for these parameters and for international law, including international humanitarian law, must be central to our response to the immediate crisis and also to our efforts to chart a path to a sustainable peace in the long term.
Continuing, and indeed increasing, Israeli settlement activities dangerously imperil the viability of the two-State solution based on 1967 lines. These concerns are widely held by the international community; the UN Security Council has affirmed that Israeli settlements are ‘a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace’.
Ireland’s comprehensive legal analysis Israeli practices and policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, including our conclusion that Israel has committed serious breaches of international law, was presented by the Attorney General to the International Court of Justice on 22 February, within the context of the Court’s hearings in relation to the Advisory Opinion south by the United General Assembly.
