Gaza bombing and children
Gary Gannon argued that bombing Gaza inevitably kills children and civilians and criticised Ireland’s retreat from supporting the Occupied Territories Bill. The Taoiseach agreed the bombing was disproportionate and said rocket fire must also stop.
The median age of the population of Gaza is 17.7 years. The size of the population is over 2 million. When bombs are dropped on an area of its size with that kind of population and with such a median age, it is inevitable that children will die. The Palestinian community is crying out for international solidarity and help.
I am not even going to ask the Taoiseach about the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, which Fianna Fáil supported during the period of the confidence and supply agreement and then moved away from when it went into government. I have a simpler question concerning the potential to bring a motion to the UN Security Council demanding that Israel halt settlement expansion in the Occupied Territories. I believe that could be a real sign of leadership. New Zealand, a country of similar size to ours, did it in 2016. Will Ireland take that substantial position to support the Palestinian people?
Comment on this
I agree with the Deputy that it is not possible to bomb Gaza without killing innocent children, teenagers and civilians. I have been to Gaza. I walked through it in the aftermath of a war. It is densely populated, with people at close quarters. Bombing raids cause enormous devastation and killing and grief, and should not be proceeded with. I believe such raids are highly disproportionate to what is happening on the other side in the context of the firing of rockets, which is also wrong and which should not be happening either. Those responsible for the firing of rockets should desist also. You cannot bomb Gaza without killing children, teenagers and innocent civilians.
Ireland has a strong diplomatic record at the UN and at the Security Council. We should trust our diplomats and Ministers in this respect. This is not a situation for making gestures or doing the public thing. Seriously, if we want to make real progress on these issues, we should sometimes have a bit of self-respect for our own traditions of diplomacy, which have stood us in good stead. That is the point I am making.
