Paul Murphy condemns US reversal on West Bank settlements

I would like to ask the Minister Simon Coveney to condemn in the strongest possible terms the decision of the US administration to no longer consider the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. It is a move that clearly has no legal basis whatsoever. The Geneva Convention, Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention, is very clear that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. It has been recognised as such by a number of UN Security Council resolutions, the most recent being 2016. It has been recognised as such by the International Court of Justice. More importantly than it being against international law, it is clearly against any basic element of justice and equality in this world. These settlements are built on violence, brutal violence by settlers and by the Israeli state against Palestinians. They are maintained on the basis of extreme discrimination, on the basis of poverty, on the basis of apartheid and segregation, including segregation, separation, walls, roads etc. This act will undoubtedly give a green light for more violence, for more settlements to be built and to continue to, and this is their purpose, to block any road to a viable Palestinian state by breaking up Palestinian territory. This obviously isn't the first move of such a sort by Trump. It is one of a whole series of moves over the last number of years, from the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017, followed by the moving of the US Embassy there in May 2018, the removal of funding from UNRWA on the basis of their assistance for Palestinian refugees in early 2019, followed in March 2019 by the recognition of the Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory, the only state to do so internationally, and now this. And each of those moves have been calculated to pander both to Trump's pro-Israel base domestically, but also to assist in propping up an extremely right-wing Netanyahu regime in Israel. The acknowledgements of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory in March was immediately before the general election, and the latest move comes at a time when Netanyahu is facing the possibility of losing power. In the coalition negotiations that followed the election, Netanyahu immediately took advantage, he probably knew in advance, he went and made a trip in the last day to the settlements, has repeated the kind of language about extending Jewish sovereignty to all of the settlements, in other words, annexation of more Palestinian land. This isn't just an issue of Trump's bad intentions. Arden support for right-wing Israeli policy has a bipartisan consensus in the US, with both the corporate Democrats and the Republicans seeing the propping up of the racist apartheid state of Israel as part of an imperialist strategy in the Middle East. It's very clear that the Oslo Agreement is dead, that it was never aimed at providing justice for Palestinians, but to give limited concessions to cut across a mass movement. And the redevelopment of a mass movement from below, uniting Palestinian and Israeli Jewish working-class people together in a struggle against the Israeli elite, is what's necessary and that the international allies for them are not the likes of the US, nor, unfortunately, the likes of the EU, which will cry crocodile tears but do fundamentally nothing about it, but instead are ordinary people, Palestinian solidarity activists, trade unionists, socialists, anti-war activists, to support the redevelopment of a mass movement in the Middle East. First of all, Deputy, thank you for giving me the opportunity to put the Irish Government's position on the record. And in view of the US comments yesterday regarding the legality of Israeli settlements, I would like to restate firmly Ireland's clear position on this issue. Settlements are illegal under international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention states clearly that an occupying power must not transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory that it occupies. This is also the EU position. The views of the international community on settlements have been clearly set out in UN Security Council resolutions, notably Resolution 2334 of 2016. Settlements are illegal. They actively undermine the prospects for a two-state solution, and the relentless expansion of settlements inherently involves injustice and dispossession of Palestinians – or for Palestinians, I should say. This Government remains steadfast in its support for a comprehensive two-state solution which protects the future of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. Ireland has been a strong and consistent voice on the issue of settlements in EU discussions. I supported yesterday's statement by the EU High Representative, Frederica Mogherini, which reaffirmed the long-standing EU position that all settlement activity is illegal under international law and erodes the viability of a two-state solution. I have no difficulty saying that I disagree fundamentally with the US comments on this issue. Ireland's views on settlements have also been communicated to the US Administration in all meetings related to the Middle East peace process, most recently when I met Jared Kushner in New York in September. I hope to meet the US Ambassador again shortly, and I will also raise the issue with him. Israel is also very well aware of our position. When Prime Minister Netanyahu made comments on annexation of the Jordan Valley during the September general election campaign, Ireland was clear that annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law, including the UN Charter. This is a fundamental principle of the relation of states and the rule of law. My officials called the Israeli Ambassador on that occasion to ensure Ireland's views were directly conveyed. Any unilateral annexation by Israel of occupied territory would have no legitimacy and would not be recognised or accepted by Ireland or the international community more generally, in my view. Ireland and the EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties. Israel's settlement policy, including in East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law for the same reasons as I have already outlined. I have set out my views, both in this House and in international fora, that the ongoing effects of the occupation, which has continued for more than 52 years, are not conducive to a lasting settlement. I can assure deputies that the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory will remain high on my agenda. In fact, I hope to travel to the region again before the end of the year. First, I just ask the Minister if he agrees that this action by the US administration is likely to give a green light light for further settlements and further violence that comes with those settlements. If he agrees with that, which I think is self-evident, then would he do more than disagree fundamentally with the US comments on the issue? And will he condemn those comments? Because he knows what those comments are aimed at, and I think he has to accept what the consequence of those comments are likely to be. Secondly, and obviously I welcome the fact that the government restates its position that all settlement activity is illegal under international law. But in that case, why does his own government seek to block a measure proposed by Francis Black, and I think probably having a majority of support in this House, which would block the importation of goods made precisely in those illegal settlements that the Minister and the government say they are opposed to? Why then does the government and the Minister seek to block the progress of that bill with the use of the undemocratic money message veto? On the one hand, I think your government will cry crocodile tears about the Palestinians, as is the position of the EU generally. But you look at who was lobbying in relation to the Occupy Territories bill. The US Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of US big business, which fundamentally supports the approach of the right-wing Israeli regime. I say again that the real force for peace here is ordinary people, working-class people, the masses in the Middle East, Palestinian, Arab, Israeli, Jewish. And the mass mobilisations, we saw the marches on the checkpoints, the borders, that gives a glimpse of how you can have the development of a new mass movement from below, along the lines of the First Intifada, which can fight for democratic and socialist change to ensure the resources are used for the benefits of all, and the national rights of all are respected. Deputy, first of all, can I say this has nothing to do with socialism. Everything for you always comes back to the same issues of global movements and democratic socialism and all the rest of it. This is an issue of international law. I have and I will continue to advocate both within the EU and across the UN and bilaterally with many countries that Ireland have very good relationships with, including the US. to express our clear position in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict. I will continue to advocate for a two-state solution. I will continue to visit the region and prioritise it in terms of Irish foreign policy, as I have been doing to date. And in relation to some of your questions, I do think that these comments make it easier for an Israeli Government to continue to focus on expanding settlements in Palestinian territories, and to do so illegally under international law. And that is why I felt the need to counter the comments and to outline both the Irish and the EU position very clearly. In relation to Francis Black's bill, the reason why I won't support that is that I don't believe it's a legally sound bill. I don't think that Ireland has the capacity to impose what is effectively a trade sanction when the competence and the responsibility for decisions on trade is with the EU collectively. And so I am not going to commit public finances to a bill that I know to be unsound legally. I have made that point very clearly, both publicly and privately to Francis Black on many occasions, and she understands my position on it. And it is a clear position on the basis of AG advice. You and others just choose to ignore that, as if it's not the case. But we are not going to, as a Government, introduce legislation that isn't legally sound, and commit resources to do that, and to fight the legal cases that will follow. So can I say I am glad that we agree on one thing, and that is on the illegality of settlements and the expansion of settlements in occupied territories. And I will continue to maintain that position on behalf of the Irish Government. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Labour. Thanks becic, Mr. Prime Minister. According to the minister ofkeeping andhat's finance, these are the headquarters covered.