Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is a very significant and important day when a state formally recognises another. It did not really hit home for me how significant this was until I saw the Palestinian national flag flying on my way into Leinster House today. More than four years ago, when my party was negotiating for a commitment to recognise the State of Palestine in the programme for Government, we never thought it would be under such circumstances. Nevertheless, this formal expression of solidarity is hugely significant. I know from my own time working in Palestine that the Palestinian people look internationally for support in a variety of ways. This act of recognising the State of Palestine will have a real impact on the hopes that Palestinians have for peace and justice.

Since I have been in office, I have endeavoured to use my role, whenever possible, to support the protection of human rights in Palestine. When Palestinian human rights organisations were blacklisted by the IDF, I visited the West Bank, met with them and publicly declared support for their mission. I have met with the ICJ, with the ICC and with UNRWA in Brussels and Geneva, and, again, publicly supported their mission. I am proud that Ireland was first out in their defence. At the time, I wrote to the ambassadors of all of the countries that paused UNRWA funding. Many have reversed that position and I urge the remaining countries to follow suit.

This movement against UNRWA was and is symptomatic of a bigger issue. There is a war in Gaza but there is another war operating in parallel and now escalating. That is the war being waged on human rights and international humanitarian law, but also, in particular, against institutions that endeavour to protect and uphold them. The International Court of Justice is one of those institutions. It is one of the six organs of the United Nations and its decisions are binding. Let us recap some of the orders made by the ICJ in the last five months. Initially, in January, the ICJ announced that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide. In March, one of the orders was to take all necessary measures to ensure humanitarian aid is accessible, including increasing capacity and the number of land crossing points. Just last week, the ICJ ordered that Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governorate.

We all know how Israel has viewed these orders. People not familiar with the history of the illegal occupation of Palestine might not be aware of the decades of impunity that Israel has built this war on. It is this impunity that must change if we are to expect a different outcome to the long-standing conflict. There must be consequences. It is important to recap that in February, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and the Spanish Prime Minister wrote to President von der Leyen to request a review of the human rights clause in the EU-Israel association agreement. Frankly, what has followed has been a level of disregard for international agreements and human rights that has not just been hugely damaging to the Palestinian people but also damages the credibility of the Commission and other international institutions. If the EU does not at least temporarily suspend the EU-Israel association agreement, it is de facto supporting the growing disregard for international agreements, international law, the ICJ, the UN and the ICC, which have all been under attack of late. It is vital that we defend and protect the international institutions that endeavour to maintain a basic moral and legal order internationally. Their legitimacy is under attack and we should be very worried about this, not just in the context of Israel's actions in Gaza but going forward. Other international actors are watching closely to see how far Israel can go without major consequences and to see how much these vital international institutions are undermined.

I acknowledge the role that civil society has played in Palestine and in keeping hope alive among Palestinians every day. I also want to acknowledge the role civil society in Ireland has played in pushing for justice and true respect for human rights and in organising extraordinary experiences and expressions of solidarity. In particular, I acknowledge the extraordinary event that Bohemians Football Club organised recently with the Palestinian national women's team. Anyone there on the night will understand, respect and acknowledge that expressions of solidarity have a very real impact on people and their hopes.

A vibrant and varied civil society plays an important role in expressing public opinion in an open democracy. I acknowledge the efforts of the students’ union in Trinity College and what they have achieved. Civil society plays an important role in sparking change and I feel there is more potential for civil society to spark change. Through cross-societal agreements with unions and businesses, we can go further in nationally expressing our respect for human rights and our abhorrence for what has been inflicted on the people of Gaza.

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