CEG Motion on Palestine

- that the number of children killed in Gaza in recent weeks has surpassed the annual number of children killed across the world’s conflict zones since 2019;

- that over 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or both legs amputated due to the bombardment, sometimes without anaesthetic;

- the killing of 1,200 Israeli citizens and the attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians and the taking of hostages, including an estimated 30 children;

- that over 122 journalists have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks;

- that more than 152 United Nations (UN) staff have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks;

- the killing of over 390 Palestinians, the wounding of over 4,250 people and the displacement of 13 entire communities in the West Bank in recent weeks due to increasing illegal Israeli settler violence;

- Israel’s cutting off of food, water and electricity to Gaza and the cutting off of telecommunications to and from Gaza;

- the forcible displacement of civilians in Gaza and the aerial bombardment of routes used by displaced civilians;

- the targeting of critical infrastructure in Gaza and the orders from the Israeli Defence Forces to evacuate hospitals, placing further strain on a healthcare system on the brink of collapse;

notes with extreme concern:

- that the Israeli Government’s actions amount to collective punishment of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, which is a violation of international law, in particular the Geneva Conventions;

- that incitement to genocide is a crime set out in Article 3 of the Genocide Convention and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must punish those inciting genocide in their judgment imposing provisional measures;

- that the ICJ’s imposition of provisional measures in the South Africa v Israel case under the Genocide Convention means that Israel is credibly accused of committing genocide in Gaza and must take measures to prevent further damage while the case is ongoing;

- that Israel has continued to kill Palestinian civilians and deprive them of adequate access to aid despite the ICJ’s provisional measure ruling instructing them not to, and that South Africa is seeking an emergency hearing in relation to this;

- that Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has confirmed the use of white phosphorous by Israel in civilian areas of Gaza;

- that there are approximately 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza according to the United Nations Population Fund who lack access to essential maternal healthcare or access to clean water;

- that the Israeli Government has bombed at least three refugee camps, numerous hospitals, universities, bakeries and other pieces of essential civilian infrastructure;

- that the Israeli Government has more than doubled the number of Palestinians detained, often without any due process, from 5,200 to more than 10,000, including many children;

- that Palestinians detained by Israel are sometimes subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and are deprived of food, water and medical care;

- that the Rafah Crossing has only been opened to allow an estimated 500 foreign nationals and dual citizens to leave Gaza;

further regrets:

- the failure of many in the international community to hold Israel to account for their actions in breach of international law and the unwillingness of many countries/entities, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the Council of the European Union, to call for an immediate ceasefire or to stop weapons sales to Israel;

- that the Council of the European Union has failed to be consistent in seeking application of international law, and by its double standards has engaged in acts of gross hypocrisy and moral failure;

- that the Israeli Government has refused to recognise the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC);

- the progress of the ICC’s investigation into potential war crimes committed by Israel and by Palestinian armed factions which began in 2021 has proceeded at an unacceptably slow pace;

- that there has been significant repression by Israeli authorities of demonstrations expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people;

- that there has been significant censorship of speech and repression of demonstrations expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people across Europe and such repression violates Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights;

further notes:

- that Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions prohibits collective punishment;

- that Article 51 of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions requires the protection of the civilian population and prohibits indiscriminate attacks which result in civilian injury or loss of life;

- that the rights and obligations under the United Nations Charter apply equally to all, including the obligation to pursue peace;

- the United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-10/21;

- the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), as the specialist UN agency for Palestinian refugees, is critical to the survival of millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and the wider region; it employs 13,000 staff in Gaza, and cutting off funding to UNRWA runs counter to the order of the ICJ on 26th of January to ensure all necessary humanitarian aid is available to the people of Gaza and may facilitate acts of genocide;

- that the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, Michael Lynk, has stated that ‘apartheid is being practiced by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory’; - the 2022 report from Amnesty International entitled ‘Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity’, the 2021 report from Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem entitled ‘A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid’ and the 2022 report from Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq entitled ‘Israeli Apartheid: Tool of Zionist Settler Colonialism’;

- that Seanad Éireann has passed the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 and the legislation is awaiting passage in Dáil Éireann;

- that since the Oslo Accords were signed, there are now four times as many illegal Israeli settlements which violently displace Palestinians and which impede efforts to build peace;

calls on the Government to:

- continue to advocate at international level and through all available diplomatic channels for an immediate ceasefire;

- advocate at international level and through all available diplomatic channels for an arms embargo on Israel;

- enact a rigorous and transparent inspection protocol at air and sea ports to ensure that weapons bound for Israel are not passing through Ireland;

- advocate within the EU for the urgent suspension the EU-Israel Association Agreement on human rights grounds by triggering Article 82 of the Agreement;

- provide a money message for the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 and to support its enactment;

- support the enactment of the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023;

- continue to provide and advocate for increased humanitarian aid and use all diplomatic tools available to ensure necessary levels of humanitarian aid are reaching Gaza;

- use all diplomatic and political tools available, including the imposition of sanctions, to put pressure on Israel to end their aerial bombardment and blockade of Gaza and their wider breaches of international law;

- support diplomatic and political efforts to secure the release of hostages and an end to attacks on civilians by Hamas in breach of international law;

- apply and seek the application of international law in a consistent manner;

- support ongoing and emerging investigations by the ICC, including investigations into actions by Israel and Hamas in recent months;

- support South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice under the Genocide Convention;

- recognise the State of Palestine in line with the Dáil motion to do so in 2014 and the commitment in the Programme for Government;

- reaffirm and redouble efforts to create a lasting peace that includes a two-state solution, the dismantling of the system of apartheid in Israel, the end of the illegal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and an end to the blockade of Gaza;

calls on the Council of the European Union to:

- advocate for and support an immediate ceasefire through all available diplomatic channels and international fora;

- use all political and diplomatic tools available, including sanctions, to put pressure on Israel to end their aerial bombardment and blockade of Gaza;

- use all political and diplomatic tools available, including sanctions, to put pressure on Israel to end their ongoing breaches of international law;

- support diplomatic and political efforts to secure the release of hostages and an end to attacks on civilians by Hamas in breach of international law;

- apply and seek the application of international law in a consistent manner;

- support ongoing and emerging investigations by the ICC into Israel and Hamas;

- substantially increase levels of humanitarian aid to Palestine, including the restoration of funding for UNWRA;

- reaffirm and redouble efforts to create a lasting peace that includes a two-state solution, the dismantling of the system of apartheid in Israel, the end of the illegal occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and an end to the blockade of Gaza;

- ensure that European Union Member States are not infringing Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that the right to protest and express solidarity is not being repressed.