Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 25 May 2021

Today we condemn the illegal and ongoing annexation, the illegal seizure of Palestinian lands by the Israeli occupier. Today we condemn the illegal displacement of Palestinian families and communities from their homes and from their land. Today we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and we assert their inalienable right to their homes, to their land, to their homeland, their right to self-determination, a right that can never be extinguished. Today we condemn the Israeli occupation and their illegal settlements. We state loudly, we state clearly that Israel violates international law when it forces Palestinian children, Palestinian women, Palestinian men at gunpoint of their land. when they bulldoze their homes. Israel violates international law when it transfers its settlers to illegally occupy Palestinian homes and Palestinian land. Israel has no right, has no claim and has no title to the occupied Palestinian territories. Their land grab is illegal. Their settlements are illegal. Their behaviour is criminal. They are guilty of crimes against the Palestinian people. And these are the facts. And the facts are not in dispute. Israel is a serial violator of international law, a serial violator of the human and democratic rights of the Palestinian people. So today we call on Israel to cease and desist its criminal behaviour, to end all settlement activity, to return stolen land, to end their occupation and to conform with the law. Today marks the most explicit and the most united call from this parliament against annexation and against the illegal Israeli occupation. Long and bitter experience, of course, tells us that our calls may well land on deaf ears. So we call also on the international community, on the European family of nations and most particularly on our own government in Dublin now to act, to call Israel to account. We challenge all of the global community to move beyond the pious politics of condemnation onto the politics of accountability and the rule of law. And we challenge you, all of you, to use every means necessary, every diplomatic channel, every political lever, every economic tool to end what is now generations of human rights abuses. The Palestinian people are not seeking anything exceptional, they are not looking for more favourable treatment, they demand only the vindication of their rights, rights that neither Israel nor anyone else can take from them or render null and void. So let's assert again that these rights must be acknowledged, protected and vindicate. Count Corle, I believe that the case of Palestine is the acid test for the international community. Decisions have to be made, decisions have to be made, choices have to be made. Does the world stand with the beleaguered, occupied Palestinian people or does it offer alibis and excuses for the Israeli occupier, for the Israeli lawbreaker? Do we stand with the brutalised, traumatised refugees and people of Gaza or with the Israeli military machine? Do we finally and most importantly insist on calling Israel to account? Are we prepared now to face the Israeli apartheid regime down? Are we prepared to draw lines in the sand? Are we prepared to stand for freedom? I know where the Irish people stand on all of these matters. The Irish people stand with Palestine for freedom and for the rule of law. The great question now is whether our government here in Dublin, whether the European family of nations and the entire international global community is prepared to act. The time is now. The time to act is now. And that is what the global community demands.