Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The gross injustices that are unfolding at the moment in Gaza are an indictment against Israel but also against the international community. The international community is standing idly by in respect of what is happening in Gaza at the moment. It is an incredible issue on which many people have spoken very well here today. The fact is that more than 11,000 citizens, non-combatants, and at this stage more than 4,000 children have been murdered by the Israeli state in Gaza. This is a murder rate of one child nearly every 15 minutes. This number dwarfs in one month the total number of fatalities that happened in the Troubles over 30 years and yet most of the international community, aside from rhetoric, is standing idly by while this is happening. The fact is that we have had dozens of UN workers and dozens of journalists murdered in that area. Children, premature babies and adults who are in intensive care are losing their lives because of the lack of fuel and electricity, and yet the State and the international community are standing idly by. Incredibly, we have a situation where 2.3 million people living in an area half the size of County Louth are being denied food, water and fuel, a situation which will lead to disease, illness and starvation in some cases. It is absolutely incredible that Gaza, which had been receiving 500 trucks of supplies on a daily basis, in the last month only received 1,000 trucks in total, and the international community is standing idly by and letting it happen.

Israel would not be able to do what it is doing unless it had support from the international community. The US and EU leadership have signed a blank cheque in support of the Israeli state in what they are doing. This is why I have such frustration with the Irish Government's response because I have asked the Taoiseach what the Government is doing on this conflict. The Tánaiste stated that the reason we should not expel the ambassador is because the Irish Government could potentially be an interlocutor for peace in the region. That is exactly what we should be doing. We are a small country for sure but we have massive competency in peace processes and negotiations. We are also understood by the international community as being an honest broker when it comes to conflict. When I asked the Taoiseach if the Government had taken one step and made any offer at all to either side of this conflict to act as a mediator, facilitator or interlocutor for peace, he said "No" - the Government has not made one effort to do that.

I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste is in the region, in the Middle East, this week. Yesterday, I asked the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, if the Tánaiste was going to use this particular trip to the region to offer Ireland's services as a mediator, facilitator or interlocutor for peace, and he, shockingly, said no. Despite all the verbiage and the hours of debate that are happening in this House, the one effort that we could make as a country to try to put pressure on Israel to stop is not being taken by this Government. I have to ask why. It is interesting that the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, said that we would not do it until there is a ceasefire. John Hume did not wait for a ceasefire to talk to Gerry Adams about the peace process in the North. Peace processes start before ceasefires. They start while people are fighting against each other. This is the time to carry out that action.

In reality, the Government has outsourced its foreign policy to the European Union, like it is doing so often now. The European Union has been a disgrace. It has significantly distorted the foreign policy of countries such as Ireland with the language it has used both within the European Union and internationally. The European Union has shown itself to be quite useless in that, despite all the power and influence the European Union has to potentially create peace, it is not taking the steps that it should. It has offered to create an international peace conference, but when Israeli diplomats were asked if they would participate in the proposed international peace conference by the European Union, Israeli diplomats said they did not have any details about what was at stake, so they could not even respond. At this stage, the international community should be using every single tool at its disposal to heap as much pressure as possible on Israel to desist from the pounding of Gaza on a daily basis. That is not happening and that is a significant problem which reflects shockingly on the European Union and badly on this State.

When the Minister of State responds later, I want him to address what Ireland is doing to create peace. What is Ireland doing to heap pressure on Israel to desist? What economic tools are we bringing into play to force Israel to listen to the international community? Otherwise, all the other conversation that we are having here does not amount to a hill of beans. The other important issue that people are forgetting about is that we have 500 troops in the region who are significantly exposed. In their camps, they have come under missile fire. We need to make sure that, whatever actions we take, we have those troops in mind. Right now, in houses throughout the country, there are mothers, wives, husbands and family members who are in fear of the potential ratcheting up of the conflict in south Lebanon. We have to make sure that we protect them.

I ask the Minister of State this again. This is the most serious breach of international law that I have ever witnessed in my life. The actions or inaction of the international community make a complete mess of international law. Who is going to follow international law again? What authority does western society ever have again when it comes to international law when it basically allows the Israeli state to ride a coach and four through international law? This Government has a responsibility. I ask the Tánaiste to make a concrete offer to the Israeli state to facilitate and mediate peace talks as soon as possible.

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