Táim ag díriú isteach ar mhuintir na Palaistíne agus go háirithe ar na daoine atá ina gcónaí ar an mBruach Thiar agus iad faoi ionradh ó arm Iosrael - ionradh fuilteach, mídhleathach atá ar siúl gan aon rud á rá againn in ainneoin gur tír neodrach muid agus go bhfuil ainm againn go bhfuilimid ar thaobh na ndaoine atá thíos. Tá, ar a laghad, deichniúr maraithe agus 100 duine gortaithe go dona, agus an figiúr ag ardú an t-am ar fad. Is í mo cheist don Taoiseach ná cad atá le rá aige. Níos tábhachtaí fós, cad atá le déanamh aige ar ár son mar thír a chuireann béim ar chúrsaí síochána agus a bhfuil sé de mhuinín againn a rá go bhfuil sé seo ag sárú an dlí idirnáisiúnta?

I am looking at what is happening on the West Bank. As the Taoiseach knows, there is an illegal war and an illegal attack has been launched by Israel. There are ten dead so far this week. At least 100 have been injured, 20 seriously. I am wondering what we are saying about that. We are clearly on the record as saying that Israel's actions are breaching international law, yet we have stood idly by. I have looked over all the comments and press releases from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. They are strong words indeed, but at the end of the day, they are empty rhetoric. We have expressed concern, we have condemned and we have regretted. We were disturbed by the demolition of a school on 7 May. We are alarmed and so on, and yet the destruction and the illegal war goes on unabated. The people in the West Bank are being attacked on the ground and in the air. This is the culmination of many attacks that we have condemned this year . There is no need to exaggerate, but in the background, almost 1 million - or 750,000 - Palestinians have been forcibly removed from their homes. At a minimum, 580 Palestinian villages have been completely wiped off the earth. This year, 133 Palestinians and 24 Israelis have been killed, but in reality the numbers are probably higher. In addition to that, 34 Palestinians and one Israeli have been killed in the Gaza Strip. We stood idly by while Amnesty International produced a report and directed a specific number of recommendations at us and other governments without a response. We stood idly by when it told us that Israel is operating an apartheid regime. Almost two years ago we stood idly when Israel labelled six human rights organisations, two or three of which we fund, as terrorist organisations with absolutely no evidence, which the EU has accepted. We are still standing idly by. What does the Taoiseach have to say about that?

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this very important issue. I think any of us who turned on the news last night will have seen the scenes from Jenin and will have been deeply concerned at the violence that is happening in Israel and on the West Bank. We are, as I said earlier, deeply concerned by the level of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories this year. That includes Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, drone and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, including the killings of civilians in Tel Aviv today, and, in particular, the incursion into Jenin by the Israel Defense Forces, which began on Monday. Such operations are increasingly involving live fire and resulting in significant casualties. The protection of civilians is paramount, as are the responsibilities of Israel as an occupying power.

As always, we stand ready to support all efforts to achieve a just and lasting two-state solution based on international law and internationally agreed parameters. The Tánaiste discusses this issue regularly with his international counterparts and we make our views known to the Israeli Government. It is fair to say that Ireland has been one of the most active countries when it comes to raising concerns about Palestine and the treatment of Palestinians by Israel. We did so during our time on the UN Security Council. In that two-year term, barely a month would have gone by when we did not raise issues that related to Israel and Palestine. We have very strong contact with the NGOs and UN agencies on the ground. Again, it would be widely acknowledged by Palestinians and by NGOs that of all the 27 countries in the European Union, Ireland has been among the most supportive of their rightful demands for peace and for a state of their own.

The Taoiseach's response is absolutely incredibly weak for an independent sovereign State. On 1 July, the Tánaiste condemned the illegal Israeli settlements. There are 5,500 further housing units in West Bank settlements - this illegal occupation is against international law - and more are planned. What we have here is an operation cynically called Operation Home and Garden. Can the Taoiseach imagine a slaughter of this nature being called Operation Home and Garden? I actually feel like stopping so that words can sink in and mean something.

We have Israel breaking international law completely, moving further and further to complete an utter occupation of the land of the Palestinians, and we are talking about how we are stronger than other countries with our sweet words not meaning anything. We have ignored the Amnesty International report. We have ignored the designation of six organisations as terrorist organisations and we are colluding with Israel in our trade and on every possible level.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

We have failed to bring in divestment of investment in the companies that are on the occupied lands, and we have failed to go with many other Bills that were tabled. We gave the usual pregnancy amendment, that is, putting it off for nine months. For God's sake, at this point, let us call it and let language mean something. What is the Taoiseach going to do in our name with regard to the slaughter of innocent people in the West Bank against international law?

Hear, hear.

We have no role whatsoever in deciding the names of Israel Defense Forces operations, inappropriate as they are, but we can take very clear positions and we have done as a Government. As the Deputy said, the Tánaiste has resolutely condemned the announcement by the Israeli Government that another 6,000 housing units will be built on the West Bank on occupied land, and I echo that condemnation. Our position on settlement activity is crystal clear. Settlements are a clear violation of international law. They stand in the way of a just and lasting peace and, indeed, in many cases, aim to make it impossible by changing facts on the ground. We are, therefore, deeply concerned about the stated intentions of the Israeli Government to continue to show disregard for the clear international consensus around this issue. We urge Israel to reverse these decisions and immediately cease all settlement activity across the occupied Palestinian territory. We condemn resolutely the violence by the Israel Defense Forces against Palestinians in Jenin. We also condemn attacks on Israeli civilians, such as those that occurred in Tel Aviv, or the drones and rockets being launched from Palestinian territory into Israel.

I thank the Taoiseach. That concludes Leaders' Questions.