I am sorry. Gabh mo leithscéal. Senator Black is next. Rinne mé dearmad.

Yesterday morning, the Israeli military murdered ten Palestinians, including two elderly men and a child, and injured more than 100 in a vicious raid on Nablus. Throughout the brutal attack, the Israeli military blocked Palestinian medical personnel from treating the wounded. The raid on Nablus is the second massacre by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank in 2023. The Israeli military killed ten Palestinians during a raid in Jenin in January. Both cities are under constant, systematic terror by the Israeli military. This year could be the deadliest year in the West Bank since 2000. At least 61 Palestinians have been killed so far this year. Why is the Irish Government ignoring the constant and extreme violence against Palestinians? It is horrific. As thousands of Palestinians mourn for the ten lives lost in today's raid, why is the Irish Government abandoning them in their struggle?

Let us be clear. These raids are designed to terrorise Palestinians with the goal of ethnically cleansing them from their land and destroying any resistance against Israel's apartheid regime. I believe this Government and, in fact, the whole world has lost all connection to the realities that ordinary Palestinians face. Palestinians will continue to be threatened with death, injury, occupation and oppression while the world watches and pronounces empty words. We should be on the side of unconditional commitment to justice, equality, freedom and dignity for all people with no exceptions. When the Tánaiste visited Kyiv as Taoiseach in July 2022, he was right when referring to Russian atrocities. He said that "The use of terror against and the deliberate targeting of civilian populations are war crimes".

Senator, I am sorry. Are you calling for a debate?

I am calling for a debate. I want to quote the Tánaiste. He continued:

Those responsible, those carrying out these actions, and those directing them will be held fully accountable, and there will be no hiding places. That is why we have provided additional funding to the International Criminal Court, to give it the capacity to follow up on these crimes.

I am asking the Tánaiste why he will not condemn the Israeli apartheid regime for the massacre of civilians, in the same way he condemns Russia. Is it perhaps because Palestinians are not white Europeans? Why are Palestinian lives less valuable than Ukrainian lives? I invite the Tánaiste to come to the Seanad and explain why he is not saying that Israeli war criminals should be brought before the International Criminal Court. I am calling for a debate on this. We must have a debate on this issue. What is happening to the Palestinian people is horrific. Enough is enough.

Hear, hear.

Well said.

It is colonisation and it is horrific. I feel so emotional about this. It is horrific.