I have run out of words to describe the horror being inflicted in Gaza by Israel. I have run out of words to describe how cruel it is. Israel's stated aim is the elimination of Hamas, but its relentless and indiscriminate attacks do not discern between innocent people and Hamas fighters. More than 18,000 people have now been slaughtered, 75% of them women and children. I want to read into the record a recent report from journalist Bel Trew on the scenes inside the European hospital in Khan Younis:

A badly burned toddler screaming for the mother he doesn’t know is dead – and screaming because doctors do not have enough painkillers to relieve his suffering. An eight-year-old boy whose brain is exposed as bombing damaged parts of his skull. A teenage girl, her eye surgically removed, because every bone in her face is smashed. A three-year-old double amputee, whose severed limbs are laid out in a pink box beside him.

None of us can say we did not know what was happening. I do not know how the leaders of self-professed civilised countries who have abstained or voted against a ceasefire in the UN can live with their decisions. They have the blood of thousands of innocent people on their hands. Four weeks ago, when I asked the Taoiseach to push for trade sanctions against Israel at EU level, he told me that he would seek legal advice. Every week since then he has said he did not have that advice yet. This is despite the fact that most people would not think he needs a legal expert to tell him what is very obvious to everyone, namely, that Israel is in breach of the human rights clause. I was interested to hear that on Monday at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the Tánaiste asked the EU Commission to examine if Israel was in breach of the human rights clause of the EU-Israel trade agreement. Am I to assume that the lawyers have at last provided the Taoiseach with the advice?

The letter to the EU Council President, co-signed by the prime ministers of Belgium, Malta and Spain, calls for the EU to act and states that its credibility is now at stake. I am genuinely glad to see the Government take that stance. However, I regret to say that the credibility of the EU on this is long gone, as is its moral authority. Will the Taoiseach clarify if he has received the legal advice he promised to get four weeks ago? Is it now the position of the Irish Government that multilateral trade sanctions at EU level should be imposed on Israel?

The current situation in Gaza is intolerable. It is unacceptable that over 18,000 people have been killed so far, many of them children, and that the majority of the population of Gaza, about 2 million people, have been displaced. The death toll is shocking, and the relentless bombings and killing of innocent civilians must end. That is why I will continue to make the case in Brussels and elsewhere for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in order that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, hostages can be released and citizens of third countries who want to leave are able to do so. I will continue to make the case that Europe needs to change its position on Israel and Palestine, to be less passive and to push for and demand a two-state solution in a way that we have not done in the past. I will be making that case strongly with colleagues on Thursday and Friday.

The political and legal advice is clear that trade is an exclusive competence of the European Union and that decisions made on trade and sanctions can only be made on the basis of consensus or unanimity. As long as even one or two EU countries do not want to impose trade sanctions, it is not open to us to do so. That is the clear political fact for anyone who reads the treaties but also the legal advice for anyone who wishes to interrogate the matter.

The UN vote yesterday is significant. We welcome it. Of nearly 200 countries in the world, over 150 voted for a ceasefire yesterday in New York. Only ten countries are now siding with Israel.

What we are seeing unfolding in Gaza is an absolute disaster for the Palestinian people and they are experiencing terrible suffering. I do not mean the Hamas terrorists, I mean the civilians. The majority of people being killed are civilians and the majority of them are women and children.

I also think it is a disaster for Israel because this will not bring them security and it will not bring them peace. It is very quickly losing support and sympathy all around the world. Even its closest ally, the United States, is, I believe, beginning to have second thoughts about what is unfolding in Gaza.

That is a strategic disaster for Israel. The Israelis are making a huge mistake. It is not just about the humanitarian suffering that is being imposed on the people in Palestine; what the Israeli Government is doing is jeopardising the long- and medium-term security of the Israeli people.

Week after week, when I ask the Taoiseach these questions, he explains to me over and over again what multilateral sanctions are and why they are the only effective form of sanction. For a month now, I have been calling for those sanctions. EU sanctions are multilateral. There is no need for the Taoiseach to come in every single week to try to explain to me over and over again what they are. That is what I am calling for. Not only is it somewhat patronising, but it is also a waste of time. Most of all, the Taoiseach then does not answer the question. I will ask it again: did the Taoiseach get the legal advice on the human rights clause in the EU-Israel trade agreement, which he said he would get four weeks ago?

The answer is "Yes". The legal advice is that trade is an EU competence. Suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement and imposing any form of trade sanctions can be done only on a Europe-wide basis. That requires a consensus and unanimity among all 27 member states. That is the position. It is a political fact, and it is also the legal advice. I am happy to clarify that again in this Chamber. I am not sure quite how many times I have done so now.

We believe the time has come for sanctions to be taken with regard to activities, particularly in the West Bank. The Tánaiste has been liaising with his counterparts in a number of other member states on this matter. One thing we want to do - and work is being done on this - is impose restrictions and travel bans, particularly on Israeli settlers. I refer to those who are-----

What about the Israeli Government?

-----causing huge difficulty for the Palestinian population in the West Bank.

It is a joke. An absolute joke.

I refer again to trade sanctions. The only way it can be done is by means of EU competences, EU treaties, the law and unanimity.

Are you calling for it?

It sounds like you are afraid of the Israeli Government and afraid to deal with them-----

We do not need commentary.

You go after their citizens but not their State.

Deputy Smith, you are out of order. I call Deputy Tóibín.