I wish to highlight the ongoing plans of apartheid Israel to expand illegal settlements in strategic locations which will cut the West Bank in two and separate Jerusalem from the rest of Palestine. Five hundred and forty new homes were approved recently in Har Homa. These settlement expansion plans are designed to disrupt Palestinian territorial continuity and bury hopes of a two-state solution. Will the Minister raise this issue with the Cabinet and ensure that Ireland uses its position on the UN Security Council to sanction apartheid Israel for these plans?

I do not think this is an issue that divides us. There is widespread concern in the House about the fate of a lot of Palestinian communities in the West Bank and, if I am using the right term, the effective annexation, a term which was used to describe some of the new settlement patterns. We share that concern and express it on the international stage and within Cabinet discussions there would be a similar perspective. I agree with the Deputy. This is an ongoing concern for every Member of the House.