Israel's ongoing genocidal, year-long massacre in Gaza and now its savage assault on Lebanon have triggered a terrifying escalation of conflict and violence that threatens to engulf the entire Middle East. It is worth saying that the state that is guilty of this massacre in Gaza and that is attacking Lebanon has nuclear weapons and has refused to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. This is a state for which there is no atrocity it is unwilling to commit, no butchery or massacre that it is not willing to perpetrate and no red line it is not willing to cross. It has nuclear weapons and does not believe in international efforts to contain the proliferation of same. This is a scary situation. There are 379 Irish troops and over 100 Irish citizens in Lebanon. Equally important, more than 1,000 Lebanese men, women and children - the count is going up - have been butchered with missiles. We had a James Bond-like explosion of thousands of pagers, indiscriminately killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more and 41,689 people have been killed in Gaza over the last year since Israel began this onslaught. There were 60 people killed in Gaza last night and more than 200 Lebanese people have been killed in the last few days. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is guilty of illegal occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It is, by its own admission, committing crimes under international law, war crimes.

What is the Taoiseach and the world going to do about it? In particular, is the Government speaking out of both sides of its mouth on this issue? The Government says it is concerned about what Israel is doing and about the crimes it is committing but then we get a report that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, had a conversation with the Israelis back in 2019 and gave assurances that the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill, which the Government still refuses to pass-----

He had no such conversation.

No.

We will see. Why does the Government still refuse to pass that Bill? Why does it not ban all overflights of weapons being carried by Israel? The Government denied that such flights were happening but now we know that they were happening in Irish airspace. Why does it not ban all flights carrying weapons through Shannon Airport? Why does it refuse to condemn the United States for continuing to provide the missiles and weapons that Israel is using in Lebanon and has used against the people of Gaza? Why does the Government continue to allow-----

You have made your point, Deputy.

-----the US military to use Shannon when it is up to its neck in the crimes that Israel is committing in Gaza and Lebanon and which are now threatening to escalate into an all-out regional war?

Last week, I was at the United Nations and I met the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas. I also met the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Government. Both the President and the Prime Minister of Palestine thanked me, our Government and the people of Ireland for what we are doing in relation to Palestine. I come back here and I come into this Dáil and the Deputy's distortion of what the Government is doing is actually breathtaking, in terms of how he distorts the record of this Government. It is breathtaking. President Abbas thanks the Government and people of Ireland for our position but Deputy Boyd Barrett comes in here and constantly endeavours to misrepresent it. The Government's position is clear and the people of Ireland's position is clear in relation to the humanitarian catastrophe that is happening in Gaza. We are very clear in relation to the breaches of international law. We are very clear in relation to the ICJ ruling and in relation to the actions we took arising from that ruling in the context of defence equipment. Please do not attempt to misrepresent the Government of the people of Ireland in terms of our position in relation to this. The President of the Palestinian Authority understands it and, quite frankly, what he thinks of our record on Palestine matters to me a hell of a lot more than what Deputy Boyd Barrett thinks and how he wishes to misrepresent our record.

I note that in his comments - unless I missed it - that the Deputy did not condemn Iran and did not condemn what happened last night. A civilian is a civilian. International law is international law. We cannot just pick and choose if we like this country or do not like that country. What Iran did last night should be condemned by Deputy Boyd Barrett when he rises to his feet again and should be condemned by this House because we condemn other acts of aggression on a regular basis. Presumably, we wish to apply international law regardless of the country or our political stance on an issue. What Iran did last night was a despicable act that should be condemned by all. Had the air dome failed, we would be dealing with mass civilian deaths in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem-----

Just like in Gaza.

Yes. Deputy McDonald is exactly right and I hope she will condemn Iran too-----

The Taoiseach has not condemned Israel-----

Sorry, hold your horses. Hold your horses-----

He has not.

I condemn the actions of the Government of Israel, the incursion into Lebanon and what it is doing in Gaza, on a daily basis. The difference between the Deputy and me is that I am consistent. I believe breaches of international law are wrong no matter who carries them out, whereas the Deputy believes they are wrong if it suits his political agenda. What would he have said if those Iranian missiles had landed last night? What would he have done? Would he have engaged in a bit of whataboutery? What Iran did last night is dangerous and should be condemned. What Israel has done in relation to Lebanon should be condemned. I am clear on that. It is an incursion in breach of the UN Charter but it is really easy when one applies international law consistently.

We are very worried about this.

The Deputy is quite right. We have a significant number of peacekeepers, with whom I have been in contact, on the ground in Lebanon. I met the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, specifically on this issue and I spoke to the Lebanese Prime Minister directly on this matter last night. I can assure the House, because I am sure this is to the fore of the Deputy's mind and it certainly is to mine, that the safety of those troops is the absolute paramount concern for this Government and for the people of Ireland. We have been assured of their safety and have a contingency plan in place and for all eventualities. We continue to monitor that closely.

We believe very clearly there needs to be de-escalation, full implementation of the UN Security Council resolution and an immediate ceasefire. That is the position we say in public and private regardless of who breaks international law.

I am not in favour of military escalation of this by any side but I will not engage in "on the one hand, on the other hand."

Just condemn them now.

Condemn them.

No.

No, he will not.

I am not.

The Deputy is not condemning them.

Somebody is responsible for all of this.

Iran.

Somebody is responsible for all of this.

Condemn Iran.

I will tell the Taoiseach who is responsible. It is the State of Israel that invaded Lebanon in 1982, invaded it in 1996, invaded it in 2006 and invaded it again in 2024.

What about the Six-Day War?

Does the Taoiseach remember Shatila and Sabra where they collaborated with the Christian Phalange to kill hundreds of people in Palestinian refugee camps in 1982, the decades-long ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, an illegal occupation now under international law, the illegal occupation of Gaza and the 17-year siege of Gaza, which is a war crime? These are the roots of the conflict. We can condemn all we like, but we need to say that is the problem and this is a rogue state guilty of these criminal actions. The Taoiseach never condemns the United States for giving Israel the weapons to carry out these crimes-----

The Deputy's time is up.

-----or its complicity in those crimes-----

Just condemn it.

-----in giving it impunity for genocide, illegal occupation and apartheid.

I will finish by saying there is a national demonstration at 1 o'clock this Saturday-----

-----in solidarity with Palestine.

The Deputy's time is up.

Believe me, they are very critical of this Government.

When the national Chamber is reduced to some kind of community notice board, it tells us everything. While the Deputy is continuing to misrepresent the position of this Government, we are actually trying to do things. We are actually trying to do things like working with the international community to keep our troops safe. When speaking directly to the Lebanese Prime Minister-----

Pass the occupied territories Bill.

Deputy-----

I ask the Deputy to have a little respect for the process here. This is quite a serious issue-----

So is the occupied territories Bill

-----and should not involve shouting and roaring. When speaking to the Lebanese Prime Minister-----

The Government's not passing it is very serious.

Why not?

It is because of the legal advice.

The legal advice-----

May I just have a minute to answer the question?

Please-----

It is a serious matter and I am trying to give it the serious answer that it deserves. The reality of the situation is we are engaging on a frequent basis, often hourly, on these matters. We are providing increased humanitarian aid. We speak up and speak out outlining our position on a constant basis. I have said consistently that I believe what is happening in Gaza is a war on children. It is a humanitarian catastrophe and the EU is not doing enough. The US has not been effective in bringing about a ceasefire. I believe the US and the EU desperately want a ceasefire but the levers that have been pulled have been ineffective to date and have not brought it about. That is what people will ultimately be judged on. I am very clear on this. I can stand up and I can condemn the Iranian attacks-----

Not the United States which gives-----

-----and the Deputies will not condemn Iran. I do not understand why they will not do it.

Just condemn the US.

It is because they do not believe that the State-----

Go on, say it. Just condemn it.

I would like to speak. I believe the State of Israel alongside the State of Palestine both have a right to live in security and peace. The problem is the Deputies do not believe that about the State of Israel.

Do they both have the right to defend themselves?

They do not believe-----

Say it, Taoiseach.

Please-----

Say it and be consistent. Condemn the US.

If this racket is going to continue, I will suspend the House. I ask Members to please respect the normal procedures and have a bit of manners.

In abnormal times.