The government is moving a disgraceful resolution in the Dáil to condemn Hamas for violence and leaving Israel off the hook.
The Dáil Debate today (Wednesday) occurs in the aftermath of an Israeli war crime which murdered 500 civilians in a Gaza hospital.
Yet despite this, the government resolution starts with the Dáil ‘unreservedly condemns the brutal attack by Hamas’ and goes on to say it ‘recognises Israel’s right to defend itself from attack, in line with international law’.
Yet the root cause of all the violence has been the long-standing practice of Israel repeatedly punishing the Palestinian population for daring to question a Zionist project that refuses to even recognise their identity. This practice is cynically called ‘mowing the lawn’. In reality, it means regular bombardment of Palestinian areas, especially if they refuse to accept illegal settlements.
Despite all this, the Irish government pretends that the solution to the conflict is a ‘two-state solution that meets Israeli and Palestinian security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood’.
Yet the two-state solution is dead in the water. Israel was originally willing to allow a mini-Palestinian state provided they could control its external borders and be able to even turn off water and food as they did in Gaza. But Israeli politics has shifted to the far right and there is now an open assertion that Palestinians are ‘human animals.’ It is a recipe for the genocidal attacks currently underway in Gaza.
The only resolution is a democratic and secular Palestinian state where Arab, Christian, Jew and Muslim live together. This is commonly known as a one state solution.
People Before Profit have put down an amendment to challenge the government’s disgraceful resolution.
Here is a section of our amendment.
- Condemns Israel’s public declaration of its intention to commit the war crime of collectively punishing the entire population of Gaza by cutting off all food, water, fuel and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid entering the besieged area.
- Condemns the recent visit of EU commission President Ursula Von Der Leyden to Israel where she offered unconditional and uncritical support to Israel at the same time that Israeli leaders were making public declarations about their intent to commit the war crimes against the entire Gaza population, and that she did so without mandate from the EU
- Notes that despite the on-going violations of Israel of International law, the US continues to give billions every year in military and financial aid to Israel, the EU continues to give favoured trade status to Israel and many EU states continue to do billions in military and arms trade with the state of Israel.
- Notes that despites its on-going war crimes and crimes against humanity and violations of international law, including the siege of Gaza, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, illegal occupation and annexation of territory, denial of the Palestinian right to return, arbitrary killing and many other violations, Israel has never been subject to any sanction by the EU or any International body.
- Notes that under international law an occupied people have the right to resist their occupation.
You can read the government’s disgraceful motion here, and People Before Profit’s amendments here.
