Opening Statement from the Tánaiste on Government Motion Calling for Ceasefire in Gaza

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Ceann Comhairle,

We return to this issue after more than one hundred days of this shocking conflict.

As members of this House will know, I have long called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Last December, an overwhelming majority of the international community, including a majority of EU states, conveyed this same urgent message. The UN Security Council has demanded that the parties to the conflict allow immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.

Yet the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. More than 25,000 deaths have now been reported in the Gaza strip. More than one hundred Israeli hostages continue to be held by Hamas. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. The amount of humanitarian assistance entering the strip remains completely inadequate. The entire population in Gaza is considered to be acutely food insecure, while a quarter of its population faces catastrophic hunger and starvation.

Furthermore, at a time when the focus should be on de-escalation, we are witnessing heightened tensions in the region as a whole. The situation on the “Blue Line” between Israel and Lebanon, where Irish troops are serving in the UNIFIL Mission, remains tense. Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis in Yemen are not only putting the lives of the crews in danger but are having an increasingly serious impact on global trade.

A widening of this conflict would have devastating consequences for the region and for the world. We repeatedly hear from leaders in the region that escalation is in nobody’s interests. We must not allow it to happen.

Ceann Comhairle,

Yesterday, I attended the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. This provided an opportunity to engage directly with our counterparts in the region, including the Israeli and Palestinian Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, as well as the Secretary General of the League of Arab States.

Throughout all my interactions, I reiterated the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. In particular, this was an opportunity to address this message directly to the new Israeli Foreign Minister.

I recalled Ireland’s unequivocal condemnation of Hamas attacks. However I made it clear that, while Israel has a right to defend itself from attack, it must exercise this right in line with international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

This means that the response must comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. The large-scale civilian casualties and the enormous destruction means that we cannot avoid the conclusion that these principles are being breached in Gaza, and that some of Israel’s actions may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It goes without saying that the actions of Hamas - brutally attacking civilians on 7 October, taking hundreds of hostages, continuing to fire rockets indiscriminately at Israel, using civilian infrastructure for military purposes - are also clear breaches of international humanitarian law.

In my discussion with Minister Katz in Brussels yesterday, I underlined Ireland’s full support for the UN agencies, in particular those staff working on the ground in Gaza, who are carrying out their role at immense personal risk. I was clear that the sustained campaign of disinformation and de-legitimisation that is being carried out by Israel, directed towards UN and international organisations, particularly UNRWA, needs to stop. Israel should foster a constructive relationship with these organisations, who are doing heroic work in Gaza, under impossible conditions.

Ceann Comhairle,

We also received a very clear message at the FAC yesterday from the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad Al Malki, on the situation in the West Bank. As the House is aware, settler violence against, and displacement of, Palestinian communities were already serious concerns before the terrorist attacks of 7 October, and this was a focus of my visit to the region last September.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that, from January to October of 2023, we had already seen the highest levels of violence from Israeli Security Forces and Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since UN records began in 2005. The situation has further deteriorated further since 7 October. In the period to 21 January, 358 Palestinians have been killed, including 91 children, across the West Bank, and at least 198 Palestinian households have been displaced.

This is unacceptable.

I made clear yesterday Ireland’s demand that we move at EU level to impose sanctions on extreme Israeli settlers. Discussions are already ongoing at a working level on proposals, based on strong evidence, that enjoy very broad support.

Ceann Comhairle,

Perspectives for a long-term peace were also a focus of discussions yesterday, especially with our partners from the region.

In view of the recent comments by Prime Minister Netanyahu, a strong message from the international community on the centrality of a Palestinian state to the long-term security of Israelis and Palestinians is more important than ever. This is a view held by the overwhelming majority of the international community. It was also underlined by President Biden following his recent contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

This can only be done through a sustained and serious commitment to a two-state solution. It may seem impossible at this juncture, but it is the only way forward. I talked with Arab partners yesterday on their thinking on a comprehensive political plan for peace; I expect that an Arab Peace Plan could be finalised in the coming weeks. I emphasised Ireland’s full support for their work, centred on a viable Palestinian State and the right to peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Ceann Comhairle,

The case taken by South Africa under the Genocide Convention has been a particular focus of Deputies in this House over recent days.

These proceedings deserve to be treated with the utmost seriousness. Following the preliminary hearings that took place on 11 and 12 January, I expect the court will make its decision on the provisional measures that South Africa has requested by the end of January or in early February.

This decision will be analysed carefully by the Department of Foreign Affairs once it has been published and we will continue to consult closely with our international partners. We will also discuss with South Africa the content of the memorial that they will be filing on the substantive elements of the case.

Following this analysis and consultation, the government will make a decision on whether to intervene and, if so, on what legal basis. As I have made clear, interventions by states are not about joining one side or another. Rather, they aim to assert a legal interpretation of the issue at hand.

This is a legal process, in front of a court, that has a unique role in interpreting and upholding international law.

The Court is not a political forum. It is not a debating chamber. Any decision we take on intervention will be based on detailed and rigorous legal analysis, not on political opportunism. As in the Ukraine v Russia case, I expect this to take some time; our declaration of intervention in that case was made six months after the provisional measures order, and after ongoing consultations with Ukraine.

Ceann Comhairle,

I am very conscious of the significant public interest and concern on Gaza. I know that the very visible expressions of solidarity that have taken place across the country over recent weeks and months are heard and valued by the Palestinian people.

However, I do regret that the rhetoric of a small number of individuals has been unacceptable. Calling for the ‘total dismantlement’ of Israel, as some in this House have done, is not acceptable. Denying the right of the Jewish people to self-determination is not acceptable. Blaming individual Israeli or Jewish people for the actions of the Israeli government is not acceptable.

Such views – and the amplification of such views – are a distortion of everything that Ireland stands for. They damage our reputation as a country that is committed to peace, reconciliation, tolerance and mutual understanding - as a country that believes passionately that peoples with different views, histories, traditions and identities can live side by side; can find constructive ways to co-exist, that can use political rather than violent means to advance their goals. That competing narratives and strongly held beliefs and identities do not have to result in a zero sum game which ends in the destruction of the other.

Ceann Comhairle,

Ireland will continue to be a leading voice, within the European Union and the United Nations. It remains manifestly clear that addressing the urgent humanitarian situation on the ground, securing the unconditional release of hostages, and ending the immediate conflict must be the priority.

We are not there yet. But the dial is moving – both within the European Union and at the United Nations. We are seeing growing international pressure in relation to the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, EU sanctions against extreme Israeli settlers under active discussion, and intensified efforts between the EU and regional partners towards a sustainable peace. We absolutely need to move faster and with greater ambition, and Ireland will continue to be at the forefront of advocating for that. The people of Gaza cannot wait.

Ceann Comhairle, the progress that we all want to see will not be achieved by shouting louder and longer. It will not be achieved through rhetorical flourishes. It will be achieved through intensified work on concrete diplomatic and political initiatives. This is my focus and the focus of this government.