I raise again the proceedings under way in the International Court of Justice, ICJ, under the genocide convention. Yesterday, I contacted all party leaders on both sides of the House seeking signatures of support for a cross-party motion on Gaza, drafted by the Sadaka organisation, which calls for Irish support for the South African case against Israel.

In 2021, this House made history when it spoke with one voice, representing the will of the people of Ireland, in condemning the annexation of Palestine by the Israeli authorities. I ask the Minister to look at the wording of the motion I have sent to the Government and Chief Whip and to work with us in the Opposition to agree a cross-party text, one which can offer a meaningful stance for Ireland against the horrors being inflicted on the people of Gaza by the Israeli Government, so that we can speak together in calling for action against Israel and to end the awful suffering in Gaza.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. We are urgently calling for an immediate and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and full and safe unhindered humanitarian access. The protection of civilians, which is an obligation under international humanitarian law, must be paramount. There must be accountability for civilian deaths.

The hearings last week at the ICJ involved only South Africa and Israel, the parties to this case. This is not the time for intervention by other states. Deputy Bacik said she has put forward a motion. I will raise that with the Tánaiste.

We are witnessing the annihilation of Gaza. Already, tens of thousands of lives have been claimed. Those who have not been killed are essentially living in a hell on earth. Some 85% of the population have been displaced, the healthcare system has disintegrated and men, women and children are being starved and dehydrated.

Some are warning of a famine in Gaza but there is no famine. There are trucks filled with food and essential supplies within metres, stuck in Egypt. The reality is that the Israeli Government is using starvation as a weapon of war. It is massacring, torturing and brutalising a civilian population in full view of the world. The Minister's response was that we are calling for a ceasefire. What is happening is an impending genocide. Last week, the Government could have taken a strong stance against this. Ireland had another chance to match its rhetoric with actual action.

Time is up.

Instead, like most of the western world, it sat on the sidelines. Is the Government ever going to match its words with actions? Will it please reconsider its position on the South Africa case?

As the Deputy knows, discussions are taking place at EU level. As I said to Deputy Bacik, the hearings last week at the International Court of Justice involved only South Africa and Israel, the parties to the case. This is not the time for intervention by other states. We have never been afraid to intervene and have done so at the appropriate time when we judged an intervention to be warranted. I assure the Deputy we will not be found wanting.

History will judge harshly the people who stood by while the genocide was taking place and refused to call it for what it is and do as South Africa, a country that knows about apartheid and colonialism, has done. South Africa stood up, with an Irish legal representative who did this country proud, and presented an overwhelming case that Israel is guilty of the worst crime humanity can commit, genocide. Germany has, disgracefully, formally intervened on Israel's behalf. Ireland, a former colony which was subjected to apartheid laws such as the penal laws and hundreds of years of oppression, is going to remain silent. We will not now stand with the Palestinian people in their hour of need by simply joining a legal case against what is obviously a massacre and a genocide being committed, when other countries around the world are standing with us.

Thank you, Deputy. The time is up.

The Palestinian people and the 60,000 or 70,000 people who were on the streets last weekend do not understand why the Government will not do this. Is it because it is afraid of America?

There must be accountability for what is happening. As I said, Ireland will decide whether to intervene on the ICJ proceedings instituted by South Africa under the genocide convention at the appropriate juncture, after the court has made its order on preliminary measures.