Israel continues to act with impunity in its genocidal war on the people of Gaza. More than 30,000 Palestinians have now been killed. In Rafah, millions of Palestinian refugees now face the same nightmare as those massacred in Gaza city and Khan Younis before the eyes of the world. According to the United Nations, more than half a million people face famine. The decline in the population's nutrition status is at a globally unprecedented rate. Children in Gaza are being starved at the fastest rate the world has ever recorded. One in six children under the age of two years in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished. What Israel is doing on a daily basis is barbaric. The latest cold-blooded massacre of civilians gathering flour from aid trucks in Nabulsi Square has seen dozens of civilians killed and hundreds more wounded.

The State responsible for this and countless other massacres enjoys the most preferential diplomatic, economic and trading relationship with the EU of virtually any non-European country. These arrangements are worth billions of euro each year to an Israeli regime that is literally starving children to death and attacking civilians in the most relentless, brutal manner.

The Tánaiste previously failed to support motions calling on Ireland to intervene in the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice, ICJ. Does he accept that what is happening in Gaza is genocide? The evidence is crystal clear. The international community has a responsibility to end the barbarity we are witnessing in Gaza. Ireland, of course, has a role to play. We must insist on the adherence to international law. We must also insist on consequences for those who are in gross violation of international law. Israel cannot be treated as a normal state while it engages in such barbarity.

The Taoiseach co-signed a letter calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement. This was the correct, albeit belated, thing to do. The failure of the EU to take any meaningful sanction against Israel has undermined Europe's credibility as a voice for peace and conflict resolution in the world. What else is the Tánaiste going to do to force the EU to take action? What action is he going to take? Sinn Féin's Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestments Bill 2023 was read for a Second Time recently after the Government delayed its passage by nine months. The Bill, brought forward by Deputy John Brady, would simply ensure that Irish taxpayers' moneys cannot be invested in companies that profit from Israel's illegal occupation. Will the Tánaiste now commit to the House to ensuring that it becomes law without delay? Will he recognise the state of Palestine? No more excuses. Israel is attempting to bomb Palestine out of existence. If the world does not take a stand, there will be no Palestine left to recognise. Will the Tánaiste, at long last, simply do what international law requires of us all, and officially acknowledge that the Palestinian people are entitled to their state, their freedom and a future free from Israeli occupation, apartheid and oppression? On behalf of the people of Ireland, will the Government recognise the state of Palestine?

Caithfidh mé a rá gur drochscéal ar fad atá le feiscint i nGaza. Tá sé dochreidte an méid atá á fhulaingt acu agus caithfidh muid gach aon iarracht a dhéanamh chun an cogadh seo a stopadh. Tá muid sa tír seo ag déanamh gach iarrachta agus tá sé sin soiléir ón méid atá déanta againn go dtí seo ó thaobh cúrsaí polaitíochta agus airgeadais de agus ó thaobh na cabhrach agus tacaíochta atá tugtha againn go UNRWA agus a lán comhlachtaí eile atá cumasach ó thaobh cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt i gcúrsaí bia, sláinte, oideachais agus mar sin de.

Ireland has comprehensively stood up on this issue and is recognised across the world as having a very distinctive and robust position on the war in Gaza. Ireland was one of the first countries in the European Union to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. We have supported UN resolutions on successive occasions. Ireland is also one of the first countries in Europe to take the lead in supporting Arab peace initiative resolutions at the UN. We have used every political, financial, diplomatic and humanitarian measure we possibly can to help the people of Gaza, and the people of Palestine more generally, in terms of the unacceptable and extraordinary situation of hunger, famine, death and destruction that is being visited on them. We are very clear on that.

Only the week before last, the Attorney General was before the International Court of Justice in respect of the United Nations General Assembly seeking an advisory opinion on the legality of Israel's occupation in Palestine. That started long before the war. I oversaw and cleared the robust written legal submission we made to the court last July. This was followed up by the oral participation of the Attorney General. I say this because it demonstrates that Ireland takes legal cases seriously. The Deputy has used language that is not quite accurate or correct. He said we failed to intervene. We have not failed to intervene in any case and the Deputy knows that deep down but, unfortunately, he is just playing politics with it again. Sinn Féin is seeking to divide the House and create a wedge issue, as if it is more virtuous than anybody else. I respectfully suggest that Sinn Féin has a role also. It has been too silent in the United States. I have seen no effort from Sinn Féin to go to the United States or to address the issue on its social media platforms in the United States. Sinn Féin has been very vocal on other issues but on the Palestinian question it has been extraordinarily silent in the United States. I have gone to Washington and spoken to Senators and some of Sinn Féin's friends who challenged me about Ireland's position on Israel and Palestine. I actually suggested to one or two of them that they should talk to Sinn Féin on these issues. I say this because Sinn Féin is having a cut at the Government all the time and making inaccurate statements on the matter. It should not be doing that. The Deputy knows our position on the International Court of Justice and the genocide convention. South Africa itself has not yet filed a memorial on that case. It will probably have it ready in two to three months. We and our legal team are working on it. That is the official position.

We need hostages to be released and we need this war to stop. There can be no incursion into Rafah. We were one of the first countries to say stop pausing aid to UNWRA and we came up with a €20 million allocation some weeks ago to demonstrate our clear focus on relieving the humanitarian crisis facing Gazans. Unquestionably, there is no one in this House who is not appalled by or does not abhor what is happening to the people of Gaza. It is wrong; I condemn it and I have called for it to stop now.

To be absolutely clear, Sinn Féin takes every opportunity with every individual and state of influence to call for an end to Israeli oppression of the people of Palestine. I asked the Tánaiste a number of questions and he did not answer a single one of them. I have acknowledged the positive moves made by the Government, including the Attorney General's appearance at the ICJ regarding the advisory opinion. If we listen to the words the Attorney General said on behalf of the people of Ireland, the next logical question that will be asked by any right-thinking person is what the Government is going to do about it.

One of the questions I asked the Tánaiste was about recognising the state of Palestine. Everybody says there needs to be a two-state solution. Currently we have two states, one of which is officially recognised and enjoys diplomatic relationships and preferential trading economic and financial arrangements with the western world.

The other state faces annihilation. We have not officially recognised it, despite the fact that we in this House and the Upper House have voted to do so, as well as the fact that the overwhelming majority of the Irish people want the state of Palestine to be recognised. The Tánaiste's answer is always that we are waiting for someone else to join us. However, I am asking him on all of our behalf to show leadership, set a date for Ireland to officially recognise the state of Palestine and encourage others to join us in doing so.

Hear, hear.

Ireland's position is well-recognised. When speaking with any Arab nation, they say they appreciate the Irish position on Palestine. On the question of recognition, it is not about waiting around. It is about deploying that in the most optimal way possible for the people of Palestine. What do I mean by that? The Arab states are currently very close to concluding a peace initiative on which they are briefing America, the European Union and us. It will have a number of dimensions to it. Clearly, it will involve an immediate ceasefire. It will also have a security dimension in respect of the longer-term sustainable security situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. There will also be the issue of normalisation between the Arab States and Israel. As part of that, then, there would be a Palestinian administration running Gaza and the West Bank together.

The moment such an initiative emerges, it is our view, correctly - and I think the Arab nations agree with this - that we should then move with a number of EU member states. That will be the time to recognise it as part of a pathway to political talks, political tracks and a two-state-----

Bullshit.

Thank you, Tánaiste.

-----solution and recognition.

There is no issue in Ireland regarding recognition but it does merit consideration at least. I put it to the Deputy that any sensible person watching would say that we must use it in the most optimal way possible for the benefit of the Palestinian people. That moment is not too far away.

The problem is that the Tánaiste has been saying this for ten years.

We will now go to Deputy Bacik, on behalf of the Labour Party.