Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It will be ten years in December since a Sinn Féin motion was passed mandating the Government to officially recognise the State of Palestine. It is truly an historic development that Ireland is finally recognising Palestinian statehood. It is gravely unfortunate, however, that it has taken so long and that it has taken such savagery, especially in the past seven months, for the Government to finally act. The cruelty and barbarity over the past seven months in Gaza have resulted, so far, in more than 35,000 Palestinians being killed by the Israeli military, with more than 70,000 injured. Recognition in and of itself is not enough. The Government must put in place sanctions against Israel for its ongoing breaches of international law. Israel's brutal attacks on civilians sheltering in Rafah on Sunday underscore the need for sanctions to bring Israel into adherence with the recent order of the ICJ that it cease military operations in Rafah. The Government needs to stop hiding behind EU procurement obligations. The 2014 EU directives on public procurement contain specific provisions excluding tenderers guilty of certain human rights infringements from participation in public procurement. According to a recent report commissioned by Uplift, Ireland imported military equipment from Israel to the value of at least €8.5 million, primarily for military drones and other equipment in the past ten years up to 2024. Half of this trade was with Israeli Government-owned company Aeronautics Defense Systems, whose unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have been used in the onslaught on Gaza. Elbit Systems, also a beneficiary of State contracts, has been subject to allegations including the production of cluster bombs. Elbit's surveillance technology is used in Israeli settlements as well as in the Israeli annexation wall, which the International Court of Justice deemed unlawful in 2004. The Government must stop its trade with companies that provide the Israeli military with the equipment it is using in its brutal attack on the Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem. This must include enacting the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023, the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, joining the ICJ case against Israel and increasing funding to UNRWA.

A just and lasting peace between Palestine and Israel requires an end to the occupation and apartheid systems imposed on the Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state. Sinn Féin is committed to playing a constructive role with the Irish Government and international community to encourage and actively support dialogue between all sides and to develop a durable, inclusive and sustainable conflict resolution process.

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