Mr O'Toole: I beg
to move
That this Assembly condemns the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has
left more than 35,000 people dead, most of them women and
children; further condemns the actions of Hamas on October 7,
which left 1,300 people dead and many families searching for
loved ones; abhors the killing of international humanitarian aid
workers seeking to deliver vital supplies to the civilian
population on the brink of famine; rejects plans for a ground
assault on the city of Rafah, with a refugee population of more
than one million Palestinians sheltering with nowhere safe to go;
regrets the failure of the international community to act
decisively in the interests of peace; affirms its support for a
two-state solution and the immediate recognition of the state of
Palestine; calls for an immediate ceasefire in the region and the
release of all hostages; further calls for an end to arms sales
and transfers to Israel while the genocide continues; and calls
on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to write jointly
to the UK Prime Minister in pursuit of these objectives.
Mr Speaker: The
Business Committee has agreed to allow up to one hour and 30
minutes for the debate. The proposer of the motion will have 10
minutes in which to propose and 10 minutes in which to make a
winding-up speech. All other Members who are called to speak will
have five minutes.
Mr O'Toole: In
every generation, there come international events of such horror
and such moral import that to remain silent is impossible. The
burning moral question of this age — this moment — is the plight
of the people of Palestine, particularly the nearly two million
people in Gaza who have suffered months of bombardment, the
killing of tens of thousands of innocent people and the virtual
obliteration of large parts of civilian life, including
hospitals, schools and the most basic infrastructure.
The bombardment began as a response to the actions of Hamas. On 7
October, Hamas launched a series of coordinated atrocities in
Israel, claiming the lives of more than 1,000 people, and took
hundreds of hostages, including children and the elderly. That
act was an outrage that no moral person could support and that no
true supporter of the Palestinian cause could think was in the
long-term best interests of the Palestinian people. It is vital
to state clearly, as our motion does, that there is no
contradiction between opposing and condemning the acts of Hamas
on 7 October and opposing the shocking, grotesque response of
Israel.
To say that Israel's response has been disproportionate would be
a grotesque, shameful understatement. The response has been
limitless, unrestrained and repeatedly and brazenly in violation
not only of international law but of the most basic moral
imperatives that we should all live by, including the imperative
to protect innocent civilian life. The destruction of hospitals
and schools demonstrates contempt for human life.
That has been made worse by the distortions and dissembling of
Israeli Government spokespeople, up to and including the
appalling Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. I will not list all
the distortions, lies and obscenities that have been spoken by
Israeli Government spokespeople over the past number of months,
because those have, at times, been truly shocking, and I would
use up all my time were I to do so. Those spokespeople have
sought to shift the blame for innocent civilian deaths and to
tell what amount to lies.
As we know, powerful Western allies have not just armed Israel
but have too often — as they have over the past 60-plus years —
sought to protect Israel from the consequences of its actions,
including through the use of repeated vetoes of UN Security
Council resolutions. Such actions do not just threaten the
prospects for peace in the Middle East; they undermine the
ability of Western democracies, which claim to support and uphold
human rights, to have meaningful credibility when they talk about
human rights. They undermine their ability to robustly challenge
truly heinous actors, such as Vladimir Putin, by tolerating the
depths of inhumanity that Israel has inflicted in Gaza.
Our motion is clear in both moral and political terms. Some
people will ask why we have specifically used the word "genocide"
in the text of our motion. In March, the UN special rapporteur
said that she found:
"that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold
indicating Israel's commission of [the crime of] genocide is
met".
In January, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that
there was a "plausible" case that Israel should take action to
prevent a genocide. While it is correct to say that the court has
not yet made a specific finding of genocide in a legal case, I
ask Assembly Members to reflect on whether anyone could honestly
and sincerely argue that they believe, in the four months since
that ICC judgement was rendered, that Israel has made any serious
attempts to prevent a genocide.
The definition of a "genocide" is the deliberate killing of a
large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group,
with the aim of destroying that nation or group. More than 35,000
Palestinians have been killed since October, and, as we speak,
1·5 million are sheltering in the border city of Rafah. To put
those numbers into context, that is nearly the population of
Northern Ireland — the region that we represent — sheltering,
beleaguered and hungry, in one city. They are hungry, beleaguered
and, in many cases, injured or suffering. They are injured from
the conflict — from munitions that are manufactured in Western
countries — or suffering from diseases that have not been treated
properly because of the Israeli bombardment and destruction of
medical facilities.
We do not know exactly when or whether Israel will begin a
full-scale invasion of Rafah, but we know that, if it does, the
consequences will be grave. That would inevitably and unavoidably
lead to the further large-scale killing of one particular
national group: the Palestinians. It will be, as it has been
repeatedly over the past months, a collective punishment.
Collective punishment is specifically outlawed in international
law, but that is what is being meted out to the Palestinian
people. The wrongs that were committed by Hamas on 7 October —
they were profoundly wrong — in no way justify, legally or
morally, what has been visited on the people of Palestine since.
That is why our motion uses the phrase "ongoing genocide".
It is important not to make trivial comparisons between our
experience here and conflicts elsewhere. I wanted to make that
point. I hope that the debate will be mature, albeit grave. I am
sure that strong opinions will be expressed, but I hope that we
can do that in a mature way. It is important not to draw trivial
comparisons between Northern Ireland and other parts of the
world. That is true of what is happening in the Middle East; it
is important not to draw facile comparisons. In the past seven
months, as I said, 35,000 Palestinians have been killed by
Israel. That is 10 times the number killed in 30 years during our
conflict. Indeed, on 7 October, 1,200 or 1,300 people were
killed; that is more than a third of the total number killed in
our Troubles. None of us can imagine the scale of the suffering
being experienced in Gaza, but we in the Chamber know that, at
some point, however deep the feelings of injustice are and
however real the historical sense is of a wrong that needs to be
righted, violence and vengeance need to be replaced by politics
and, yes, by peace.
Even if the current ceasefire proposals are accepted by
Netanyahu's ultra-nationalist Government — we must all hope that
they are and that international pressure is brought so to bear
very quickly in the days to come — the people of Palestine and,
indeed, those in Israel affected by the events of 7 October will
live with decades of pain and trauma caused by the conflict.
Young children suffering now with lost limbs and lost parents
will carry their pain until the end of this century and beyond,
long after all of us are gone. Nothing that can be said or done
now, in the Chamber or anywhere else, can undo the trauma of
those children or the loss experienced by ordinary Palestinians
or, as I said, the Israelis who lost family members on 7
October.
The other day, a representative of UNICEF, after his journey
through Gaza, said of what he saw:
"The depth of the horror surpasses our ability to describe it".
Nothing we say now can undo the horror that has happened in the
past seven or eight months, but there can be an immediate
ceasefire. Politics and peace can replace violence and vengeance.
Given our experience and what we have learned in a different
context, we should all be willing to stand over the motion,
express our solidarity with those who have experienced
unimaginable pain, trauma and loss in the past number of months
and say that now is the time, finally, to move beyond violence
and vengeance and towards peace. I commend the motion to the
Assembly.
Ms Sheerin:
Obviously, I support the motion. I say that it is obvious,
because Sinn Féin has been unequivocal in calling for an end to
the trauma that is being inflicted on the people in Gaza. We have
been unequivocal for decades in our support for the Palestinian
people.
Words, really, are hard to find to describe what we are seeing.
We are now almost desensitised to the violence. If you click on
Instagram, you see a story from a friend who is updating you
about their running journey and then, boom, there is another
graphic picture of something that is happening in Gaza — babies
on life support machines, with the hospital being bombed around
them; journalists being murdered for speaking the truth; people
fleeing on advice, only to be bombed again — and the next story
is about a competition for a spa break or somebody who is out at
the weekend. The conflict is being live-streamed; we have been
watching it for seven months.
We know the statistics. We hear them: 35,000 people murdered;
10,000 people missing; 15,000 children killed since October; over
80,000 people injured in Gaza alone. This is just the latest
phase. It has been going on for decades. Those people have been
oppressed, forced to move and living in open air jails for
decades, and the world has watched on. The world has endorsed it.
That should bring shame to us all.
It is a humanitarian disaster.
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3.00 pm
We woke this morning to news of another missed opportunity:
Israel has rejected another opportuniyy for a ceasefire. We know
that that is because Israel does not want a ceasefire; Israel
does not want peace. We know that Israel wants to continue this,
and that is why it is incumbent on us, why there is a moral duty
and an obligation on all of us to bring them to that space, force
them to do the right thing and put enough pressure and shame on
them to make them do what is morally correct and stop the
slaughter of innocent civilians.
In Ireland, we know what colonial oppression does. We know what
occupation does. We had forced starvation in this country, and
they called it "famine" here too. We know the intergenerational
trauma that that has left us with. The mothers with empty arms
and the children without their parents: what does their future
look like? Even when this is finished, they will maintain the
scars for the rest of their lives. It does not bear thinking
about.
We have to stand in solidarity and call for an immediate
ceasefire without any considerations. We must see an end to this.
There is a duty and an obligation on us to call for that, put
pressure on the western Administrations who fund and support this
and make people see what is right. Palestine will be free, and we
in Ireland send our solidarity to the people of Gaza.
Mr Kingston: Every
loss of innocent life is appalling, and that applies equally to
innocent Israeli civilians, members of the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) and Palestinians. There can never be any defence for the
loss of innocent life.
The motion before us is poorly worded and factually inaccurate.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was asked by South
Africa to consider whether Israel had committed genocide and did
not find that to be the case. The ICJ instead ruled that Israel
should follow the Geneva convention on how military actions
should be conducted. On that basis, we cannot support a motion
that is, essentially, inaccurate; in fact, Mr O'Toole accepted
that inaccuracy in his speech. The motion rightly condemns Hamas
but then wholly fails to acknowledge that the heinous and
barbaric actions of Hamas on 7 October last year, when it
massacred around 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 240
people hostage, would rightly demand a response from Israel.
Hamas set out to provoke that reaction through a murderous
onslaught that included extreme cases of sexual violence against
women and girls.
The motion affirms support for a two-state solution but fails to
recognise that one actor in the conflict, namely Hamas, will not
accept a two-state solution. Hamas has, in its charter, the
position that the state of Israel should not even exist. The
motion calls for a ceasefire and for the release of hostages. The
sponsors of the motion must be aware that, on 20 December last
year, Israel proposed to stop fighting for a week in exchange for
40 hostages still held by Hamas but Hamas refused. The motion
further fails to recognise that taking civilian hostages is a war
crime and is explicitly prohibited by the Geneva convention. The
sponsors and supporters of the motion fail to show any cognisance
of the fact that Hamas, acting in a way that is completely
contrary to the Geneva convention, is using the civilian people
of the Gaza Strip as human shields. That is not conjecture; it
has been accepted and reported by media organisations around the
world and is fully supported by the NATO Strategic Communications
Centre of Excellence, which has stated:
"the strategic use of human shields by groups like Hamas hinges
on exploiting Israel's aim to minimize civilian casualties and
the sensitivity of Western public opinion."
The United Nations Secretary-General has also categorically
stated:
"Hamas and other militants use civilians as human shields".
While civilian deaths in Gaza are appalling and deeply
regrettable, it is Hamas that is responsible for many of them,
because it has no regard for the safety of the population.
It is regrettable that the motion was not intended to unite
opinion in the Assembly. Instead, it was worded in such a way
that it would divide the Assembly at this time, when talks
continue towards the goal of a permanent end to hostilities.
Ms Bradshaw: I
support the motion and do so in recognition that self-defence and
legitimate requests for peace never begin with inflicting on a
small population a death toll that is at least double that in the
London Blitz. We may debate the exact terms used to describe it,
but it is worth noting that the International Court of Justice
has instructed Israel to prevent its military from committing
acts that might be considered genocidal and to:
"prevent and punish ... incitement to ... genocide".
What we are witnessing is the appalling impact of civilian deaths
in Gaza. It is not just beyond immoral but serves no purpose
other than to create yet another generation coping with loss,
grief and trauma. It is therefore difficult to find the words to
express how horrified and dismayed I am that the disgusting Hamas
attacks occurred in the first place and that the collective
punishment of Palestinians continues to this day.
The motion identifies the events of 7 October as the immediate
starting point for the current loss and destruction and
identifies the need for the release of all hostages taken on that
day of terror. No one in the Chamber should line up alongside or
legitimise Hamas.
The motion highlights that international aid workers were among
those killed. That speaks, at best, to a failure to ensure that
humanitarian aid reaches a terrorised population on the brink of
famine. Such a failure is not the act of a Government claiming to
be operating on behalf of a democratic country. Those engaging in
the indiscriminate murder of civilians, including aid workers, on
that scale lost the right long ago to use the word
"civilised".
It is easy to align ourselves with one favoured group or another
for the purposes of political affiliation, and we do that very
well in Northern Ireland. What we should be doing, however, is
aligning ourselves with humanity. Consider this direct quotation
from the 'Voices from Gaza' blog in April 2024:
"In the last six months, I have been displaced 13 times. I won't
move again. There are only three options left for me – either I
will be killed, I will flee to Egypt, or this war will end. I am
now sheltering in Rafah, where there are more than one million
people. It is extremely overcrowded here. The streets are always
full of people. If an Israeli military invasion goes ahead, it
will be an absolute catastrophe."
Listen also to the voices of those now warning of the
consequences of starvation as a weapon of war. UN agencies have
reported that 70% of the population of Gaza face hunger, as we
speak, and that 5% of babies are acutely malnourished. Save the
Children confirmed that, by the end of March, 27 children had
died from dehydration or malnutrition in northern Gaza's
hospitals. That is Palestinian suffering; it is human suffering.
Governments should not meekly stand by and allow it.
In that context, the motion rightly refers to arms sales to those
causing that suffering. Here, I am afraid, the UK Prime Minister
is operating a shameless double standard, when you compare his
response to this with his response to war crimes committed by
Russia, for example. As well as facilitating war crimes against
Palestinians, he is undermining the rules-based international
order, which is now more important than ever.
Mr Kingston: Will
the Member give way?
Ms Bradshaw: Yes.
Mr Kingston: I
listened to what the Member said about arms sales and support for
Israel. Does the Member think that the RAF was wrong to join in
the defence of Israel when 300 rockets were fired at it from Iran
and other states?
Ms Bradshaw: Thank
you for your intervention.
Mr Speaker: The
Member gets an extra minute.
Ms Bradshaw: Thank
you. We will always support interventions to save lives. My son
served in the RAF. I very much value its contributions in such
efforts around the world, but they always have to be for the
purposes of saving lives, not destroying them.
As I said, the Prime Minister's predecessors helped to create the
international order. If there is any hint of hope emerging from
these appalling atrocities, it is in remarks by the Foreign
Secretary, who talked of "a political horizon" so that
Palestinians:
"can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a
two-state solution".
He also said that we should begin at least:
"to set out what a Palestinian state would look like".
That is the route to peace. We must do more to stop turning a
blind eye to those who wilfully ignore that route.
In conclusion, I repeat my party's call for a ceasefire now. I
support the motion and am disappointed that neither the First
Minister nor the deputy First Minister is in the Chamber to
respond to it. What the motion calls for is the least that they
can do.
Mr Delargy: Last
night, amid hopes of a ceasefire, we saw Israel raining bombs on
1·5 million Palestinians who had fled, in the hope of shelter, to
Rafah. They had fled Israeli war crimes in Gaza City and been
driven from north to south, with people being indiscriminately
killed all the while. Rafah has been described as "a city of
children", and it has been described as that because those
children's parents have been murdered by the Israeli state.
Entire families have been killed by the Israeli Government, and
those children now seek refuge in tents in Rafah, where Israel
continues to bomb and indiscriminately kill them.
There is an onus on all of us here to act, move heaven and earth
and do anything that we can through these institutions to ensure
that the genocide cannot continue; to make the voices of
Palestinians heard in every room and every political chamber that
we enter; and to implore leaders around the world to follow the
example of South Africa and refer Israel for its war crimes to
the international courts to show that we will not be silent in
the face of atrocity. Many of our councils have now adopted an
ethical procurement policy. Many organisations have begun to look
at divestment, and, in motions in councils across Ireland, we
have called on Israel to desist and ensure that ceasefire
continues. We need to stand united in order to ensure that those
diplomatic efforts continue.
Why is today important? It is because we can show international
solidarity and the need for a unified voice for peace, for a
ceasefire and for humanity so that we can tell Israel, "Stop
bombing children. Stop targeting hospitals. Stop forcibly
starving an entire population." What in that is controversial?
Those are not defensive actions. They are war crimes committed
while the world watches, and blocking humanitarian aid is not
defensive either. Killing humanitarian aid workers is certainly
not defensive.
In 2014, during yet another Israeli bombardment of Gaza, I, along
with others in Derry and across Ireland, helped to establish the
Gaza toy drive. For months — it was for over a year — much of
that humanitarian aid failed to reach Gaza and the people who
were in need, because the Israeli state blocked it.
However, it reached them eventually. It reached them with a
message of solidarity and hope: in your darkest days, Ireland
will always stand with you.
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3.15 pm
Future generations — your children and your grandchildren — will
ask you what you did when Palestinians were being
indiscriminately murdered. You can stand silently today, or you
can stand with them. Every Member in the Chamber today has that
choice. Will you say that you stood with them, or will you say
that you sat in silence while western Governments orchestrated
and funded the killing of Palestinians? Today, we stand at a
critical juncture. We have an opportunity for our voices to
resonate with others across the world that are calling for an end
to the genocide and for a ceasefire. Today, I call on every
Member to join that call to end the violence, the apartheid, the
genocide and the occupation. Ní saoirse go saoirse na Palaistíne.
[Translation: No one is free until Palestine is free.]
Mr Harvey: I will
speak briefly on the motion. It is a timely reminder of the
terrible ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as has been
acknowledged. All life is precious, and every loss of innocent
life is a terrible event, regardless of the circumstances. Just
as was the case throughout our troubled past, there can be no
defence of the loss of innocent life, regardless of the
perpetrator. Sadly, there are those in local politics and across
the international stage who have been all too eager to create
mischief and politicking around the ongoing trouble across Israel
and Palestine. With that in mind, it is important that we stick
to the facts and avoid conjecture as we consider the motion
today.
As the motion rightly refers to a ceasefire, we should
acknowledge the efforts to achieve a ceasefire over recent months
and the lack of interest that the terrorist organisation Hamas
has had in reaching a ceasefire with Israel. On 1 November, Hamas
stated that it would repeat its 7 October attack:
"time and time again until Israel is annihilated".
In that context, it is no wonder that Israel stated on 3 November
that no ceasefire would be agreed until all hostages were
released. A temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led
Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip took effect from 24
November to 30 November 2023. On 20 December, Israel proposed a
further cessation of hostilities for a week in exchange for 40
hostages still held by Hamas. In response, Hamas declined the
offer, asserting that the release of Israeli hostages would not
be considered unless a ceasefire was put in place first. Such a
situation is deplorable. Hostages should be released now to allow
for a lasting ceasefire to be enacted.
The motion also refers to a two-state solution. For a two-state
solution to be possible, both parties must be willing to adopt
it. Mr Haniyeh, a senior political leader of Hamas, said that
Hamas rejects ceasefire agreements by which Gaza would become
Singapore, preferring to remain at war with Israel until a
Palestinian state is established from the river to the sea. He
recently stated:
"We will not recognize Israel, Palestine must stretch from the
[Jordan} River to the [Mediterranean] Sea."
Furthermore, Hamas, in its founding charter of 1988, which was
revised in 2017, calls for the state of Israel to no longer
exist. It certainly does not recognise Israel or the Jewish
nation in any shape or form. Sadly, there is not much hope for a
two-state solution when one state cannot bring itself to
acknowledge the existence of the other.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is a cause of grave
sorrow to us all, as were the horrifying events that unfolded on
7 October when whole families and communities were butchered at
the hands of Hamas or carried away as hostages into Palestine.
The war that ensued has continued that pain and has touched and
changed thousands of lives. I trust that, soon, we will see the
release of the innocent hostages and the cessation of
hostilities.
Ms Egan: My heart
breaks for every person impacted by the atrocities in Gaza
without exception, and I support the motion. It should not cause
controversy to stand in the Chamber and clearly state that we
need to see an end to the horrific violence in Gaza. The grave
war crimes go beyond any sense or reason in this world. I condemn
the Israeli Government's depraved collective punishment of
Palestinians and Hamas's grotesque attacks on 7 October. I
support calls for the release and safe return of all hostages.
There must be an immediate ceasefire and mediation to implement a
two-state solution, creating lasting and cooperative peace across
the region. This cannot go on. When we sit and see the posts on
social media, on our phones or on our TVs, it can feel distant,
and we can feel disconnected from the atrocities, but this is
reality, and it is happening right now. Look at the devastation
hitting Rafah: hundreds of thousands of civilians being forced to
flee the city — a city already overcrowded and with a dire lack
of food, water and medication — in fear for their lives. Where do
those people go? We must call out Israel's collective punishment
of the people of Gaza. It is shameful that the UK Government
facilitates the devastation by removing funding for the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is responsible for
getting the essentials for survival to those in Palestine.
The ongoing and horrific violations of international law have led
to mass death and, with that, mass grief. Communities who, just
like you and I, have hopes of building a better life for their
children and younger generations and those around them in their
communities are experiencing immense suffering, unlike us in the
Chamber today, who, after going back and forth with our words and
motions, will go home to our warm beds and hot showers while they
fight for their lives in apocalyptic conditions, cramped into
rooms with dozens of others, unable to access sanitised water and
facing extreme nutritional deficiencies. We cannot stand silent
over the devastating cycle of violence and genocidal acts. The
atrocities are innumerable in so many ways and to so many people.
All of it is despicable.
I hope that this is not an issue for politicking; these are
people's lives. I genuinely thank the SDLP for tabling the motion
in a way that a lot of people, I hope, will support. I also pay
tribute to Sinéad, as chair of the all-party group on UN Security
Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security. As
chair of the group, Sinéad coordinated a letter with other
members. We wrote to the president of the UN Security Council,
the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs, and Micheál Martin TD. A lot of people in our
communities want to see us doing something and having our voices
heard. I was happy to stand with that, with others, when the
Assembly was not sitting, to try to make the case for lasting
peace and ceasefire and to highlight the horrendous treatment of
women and girls in the region and the violence that they are
experiencing.
This should not be a debate. We should always, in every instance,
call for peace, safety and security. Our commitment to a
two-state solution reflects our belief in the principles of
self-determination, mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence.
When we look at what has been allowed to occur to the Palestinian
people over the last decades and months and even the past
weekend, we know that something has to give. Where does all the
death and destruction end? In Northern Ireland, we often pride
ourselves on being kind, helpful and neighbourly to those in our
towns and cities. We must extend that internationally to help
secure a just future for every Palestinian and Israeli so that
they can live in peace, safety and dignity, with equal rights.
Mr Beattie: "Only
the dead have seen the end of war" is what they say. War is not a
video game, although, when you listen to some people, you know
that, to them, it is nothing more than "Kill TV". In reality,
when you are dead, you do not get a second life: you are dead.
When you are maimed, you are maimed for life. When you are
psychologically damaged, it will take years to rectify the
issues. In some cases, they will never be rectified. War is an
absolute abomination; it really is. One thing is absolutely true
about war: the people who suffer are, time and time again, the
innocent civilians, be they Israeli or Palestinian.
The Gaza conflict is devastating, but so is the conflict in
Sudan, with 15,000 dead and two million internally displaced, and
so is the conflict in Yemen, with over 350,000 dead, including
85,000 children starved to death and four million people
displaced, and not a peep out of anybody. There are conflicts in
Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Chad, Congo and Ukraine: nothing. As I will
tell you in a minute, Ukraine has a lot to do with what we see in
the Middle East.
I will make three points — they are not necessarily related — in
the hope that they will provide a bit of balance. First, I have
concerns about the motion. It seems to gloss over Hamas, which is
a terrorist organisation; Hamas, which throws men off the top of
buildings because they are gay; Hamas, which uses rape as a
weapon of war; Hamas, which kidnaps and abuses children; Hamas,
which strips out water infrastructure to create missiles to fire
at Israeli cities; Hamas, which has a stated aim of the total
destruction of Israel. That is not innocent Palestinians'
fault.
My second point concerns the assault in Rafah. That will be
devastating for the innocent Palestinians who live there. You
simply cannot put a 120-millimetre, high-explosive shell from a
Merkava main battle tank through a kitchen window to kill a
terrorist without affecting the family in there. You simply
cannot drop a tower block with a 500-lb joint direct attack
munition (JDAM) and call it "proportionality". A full-blown
engagement in Rafah will be devastating. Israel has a right to
defend itself, but it must do so within the laws of armed
conflict: necessity, proportionality, distinction and humanity.
It is absolutely clear, without a doubt, that Israel has, at
times, gone beyond those laws of armed conflict.
My last point is about arms sales. The UK's arms sales to Israel
are limited. They are very small; in fact, the vast majority of
them are navigation systems for some of Israel's aircraft and
radar systems. Those radar systems are needed to defend against
the rockets that come in, and we now say that we want to take
them away. Whether we like it or not, Israel is surrounded by
hostile nations. We have all ignored Iran's malign influence in
the region through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah in
the Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in the Yemen, all of
which are linked to the Russian Federation via organisations such
as the Wagner Group. It is the same in Syria and in Iraq. It is
really difficult to stand here and say that there should be an
arms embargo, but maybe the question about arms sales is an
ethical one. That is a different question, and we have to look at
it in the round, but it is difficult to isolate one country when
it is surrounded in such a way.
I know how the debate will end up. It will be a case of, "You
didn't support the motion, so you don't support peace". That is
how it will end up, so let me summarise and make it clear that we
support an immediate ceasefire. We support the immediate release
of all hostages. We support an increase in humanitarian aid. We
support an international response, with an Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)-type organisation
drawn from the regional countries.
We support a two-state solution, as per the Oslo agreement. We
support de-escalation in the area. However, we cannot support the
motion, which is naive at best and misses so many points.
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3.30 pm
Mr Middleton: I
dedicate my short remarks to all the hostages who remain under
Hamas control in Gaza.
On 6 October 2023, in Israel, many Jewish families were preparing
for their special weekend holiday and religious celebrations.
Many family members travelled home to be with their parents and
loved ones, including many members of the security forces, who
were unaware of the murderous plan that lay ahead. At 6.30 am on
7 October, Hamas terrorists launched more than 2,000 rockets into
Israel in the space of just 20 minutes. Families were woken from
their beds and forced to take shelter in safe rooms as the deadly
terrorists reached the border to carry out their attacks on
civilian neighbourhoods. The Hamas terrorists entered these very
peaceful communities on a murderous rampage, going from door to
door killing, raping and burning alive men, women and
children.
Just a couple of weeks ago, in the kibbutz Be'eri, just a few
kilometres from the Gaza border, I stood in what was left of the
home of Vivian Silver. Vivian was a 74-year-old Canadian-Israeli
peace activist and a women's rights activist. She worked in the
kibbutz to organise programmes to help Gazans, such as with jobs
training and fair pay for Gazan construction workers. When she
retired, she founded Women Wage Peace and volunteered with Road
to Recovery and Project Rozana to transport patients from Gaza
who were travelling to Jerusalem for treatment. On that dark day
of 7 October, her home was found burned and gutted when first
responders arrived. With no signs of a body, it was assumed that
she had been abducted. It was not until five weeks after the
attack that her remains were identified through DNA. More than
100 of Vivian's neighbours were murdered that day, with many more
taken hostage. Children were prised from their parents' arms,
senior citizens were pulled from their beds and babies were
lifted from their cribs and driven into the deep, dark depths of
the Gaza Strip.
Just a short distance away, another massacre was taking place as
young people were enjoying the Supernova music festival. A total
of 364 innocent people were gunned down — murdered, some raped,
some then burnt. Some had taken cover in bomb shelters only to
have grenades thrown into the shelters by Hamas. When I visited
that site, it was heartbreaking to see the hundreds of memorials
set up by family members of those who had been killed. In just a
matter of hours, over 1,300 people were murdered and many more
wounded. As Vivian Silver knew, no good could ever come from war.
There was a ceasefire prior to 7 October 2023. Twenty thousand
citizens travel daily from Gaza into Israel for work, and many
friendships were built. I visited the crossing and saw how open
it had been.
It is a sad reality for the people of Gaza that they have
suffered for far too long over the years from the actions of
Hamas. Whilst Hamas leaders siphoned off funding for their lavish
lifestyles and the building of their terror tunnels, ordinary
Palestinians were being deprived of basic needs that their
neighbours enjoyed. Hamas must be held accountable for its
actions. We will always stand for democracy in the Middle East
and against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, who want to bring
instability to the region.
I want to put on record that every effort must be made to bring
about peace, protect civilians and provide aid to those who need
it. We stand too in condemnation and anger at all the innocent
lives that have been lost — Palestinian, Israeli and all those
who strive for peace. We have no problem, on these Benches,
saying that. Hamas will never be content until Israel and all
Jews are destroyed. Hamas does not abide by laws or agreements
and, in its thirst for death, uses hospitals, playgrounds and
every method that it can to use its own people as shields.
I want to see peace and stability in Israel and the Middle East.
That must involve the immediate release of hostages and an end to
attacks on its closest neighbours.
Mr Brooks: Will the
Member give way?
Mr Middleton: Yes.
Mr Brooks: Does the
Member agree that it has been inappropriate in the past but that
it would be even more grotesque in the future should parties in
the Chamber choose to indulge in relationships with Hamas, see
Hamas speak at their events and so on, as Sinn Féin has done in
the past?
Mr Speaker: The
Member has an extra minute.
Mr Middleton: I
agree with the Member. As I bring my remarks to a close, I must
point out that, as a society, we cannot allow the radicalisation
of our citizens by professionals who want to spread hate and
bring discord to these shores. It is important that that
dangerous rhetoric is challenged, because it will have disastrous
consequences. Unfortunately, it is being led by people who cannot
even point out Gaza on a map. That needs to be challenged. The
Chamber should be united against violence, as my party has been,
not only here in our Province but across the world.
Ms Nicholl: You do
not have to travel very far in Northern Ireland to realise that
people have different views on Israel and Palestine: it is hung
on lamp posts for people to see. However, I had hoped that,
today, we could be united in our humanity. I have watched on in
horror at Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and at the
UK's refusal to call for a ceasefire, which Alliance has
advocated for since October. My colleagues have already set out,
unequivocally, that we condemn Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Firing rockets, kidnapping and summary executions constitute
clear war crimes and crimes against humanity. I think of all
those who are being held hostage and of how terrifying that must
be for them and their families.
What is happening in Gaza is not self-defence. Israel's seizure
of Gaza, forced expulsion of over one million Palestinians from
northern Gaza and indiscriminate bombings of civilians and
civilian infrastructure is not self-defence. It is collective
punishment. It constitutes a war crime, and it has to be
condemned by all, as should be the broader acceleration of
illegal occupation and intensification of the subjugation of
Palestinians in recent years. Consecutive right-wing Israeli
Governments, especially the current Netanyahu Government, have
intentionally accelerated the illegal occupation of Palestinian
territory, pushed annexation and dispossession of Palestinian
homes, incited hatred against Palestinians and normalised settler
violence. Since 2021, Human Rights Watch, some Israeli human
rights organisations and human rights experts have said that
those actions are so severe that they amount to crimes against
humanity.
I want to pick up on one thing before I go on to my next point.
It relates to Doug Beattie's point about how there are other
conflicts going on in the world and there is silence on those.
That is true. I have been working a lot with Iranian women and
members of the Sudanese community. I was at a rally relating to
the appalling events in Sudan. That is where I met Mohammed
Samaana and Sue Pentel. They were standing in solidarity.
Supporting this motion is not saying that there are not other
conflicts happening in the world — of course there are — but it
is important that we focus on what is happening and on the impact
that it is having on people who are here. People care so deeply
about it. Palestinians in our community are so concerned. I think
that Masoud is here today. There are people in our community who
have been doing so much to raise awareness, so I welcome the
opportunity to have this debate and discussion and to raise
awareness of what is happening.
My party deputy leader, , who leads on foreign affairs
for the party, has worked with human rights groups to advocate
for the rights of Palestinians in the region under international
law. He has repeatedly called for the UK Government to hold the
Israeli Government accountable and warned of the dangerous
potential consequences of these war crimes. Accountability is
essential to prevent further recklessness and destruction. We are
looking at what is happening in Rafah right now. I was struck by
something that Save the Children said:
"For children in Gaza, this offensive could be the deadliest and
most destructive chapter of the conflict yet. They need actions,
not words.
The UK must do everything in its power to stop the incursion from
happening, including suspending arms sales to Israel, and
demanding an immediate and definitive ceasefire."
Save the Children also said:
"People in Rafah have nowhere safe to go."
It is deeply concerning.
I made my very first Member's statement on this matter, when I
talked about Hind Rajab. I keep thinking about that girl, who was
six years old. I think about her every day. She was six years
old, and she was sitting in a car with her relatives around her
who were dead. She was talking on the phone and asking for
someone to come and get her soon, because she was scared of the
dark. She was saying, "Please come and help me", and you just
think of a six-year-old child. They are not statistics: they are
human beings. There is a problem in the media with the
dehumanisation and — I think they call it — adultification of
children in Gaza. What is the number? On 4 April, Save the
Children reported that nearly 26,000 children — just over 2% of
Gaza's child population — have been killed or injured in six
months. Children are dying from starvation and disease at the
highest rate that the world has ever seen — the highest rate that
the world has ever seen.
Ms Egan: Will the
Member give way?
Ms Nicholl: Yes, go
ahead.
Ms Egan: Does the
Member agree that that is an absolutely harrowing statistic,
which only reinforces the need for a ceasefire?
Mr Speaker: The
Member has an extra minute.
Ms Nicholl: Thank
you for that. I completely agree. Especially as parents, you just
cannot get your head around how it is being allowed to happen and
the international silence and hypocrisy around it.
We stand by a two-state solution. There is a mountain to climb,
but there is no sustainable alternative that respects human
rights. Alliance wants a just future for every Israeli and
Palestinian, and for them to live in peace, safety and dignity,
with equal rights. We have the opportunity to send a message from
this Assembly. I support the motion.
Ms Hunter: I
welcome that we have the opportunity today to talk about this
incredibly important issue. I will struggle immensely to fit in
my thoughts and feelings in articulating the horror and the level
of atrocities that have been carried out over the past few months
in Palestine, but I will certainly do my best.
Many here today, and outside the Chamber, will question why
Assembly time has been devoted to international affairs when
there are other pressing local matters. However, the scale and
relentless nature of the war crimes that are being perpetrated by
the Israeli Government represent such a horrific disregard for
human life that we in this Chamber, I feel, are morally obliged
to raise them, to ask for an end to the suffering of the
Palestinian people and to join in the international calls for an
immediate ceasefire. I want to thank the vast number of my
constituents who have been in touch on this issue, some of whom
have hosted and held rallies and have spoken so passionately
about it.
Since October last year, Israel's brutal offensive has seen the
slaughter of at least 34,735 Palestinians, wounded at least an
additional 72,889 people and devastated the lives of countless
thousands more. For people in this part of the world, the memory
of conflict, albeit on a far smaller scale, still looms large. We
would do well to consider the pain and trauma that will,
undoubtedly, harm the people of Gaza for generations to come.
Numbed and appalled, in this part of the world we have watched in
sheer disbelief at the terror of bombing civilians and the
wholesale destruction of schools, hospitals and places of
worship. One of the worst things that I have seen is the complete
denial of aid — fuel, food and water — to the civilian
population, which is struggling to survive and has nowhere to
turn. Members, when future generations look back at this moment
and our debate on this motion, they will surely wonder why so
many of us were so slow to act when newborn babies and pregnant
and breastfeeding mothers were being denied basic meals. It is
absolutely unthinkable.
As 'The Washington Post' tag line states, "Democracy Dies in
Darkness". Whilst the reputation of Israeli democracy is evermore
in tatters, surely this week, with the attack on Rafah, it is at
a new low. On 15 May 2021, the IDF levelled the al-Jalaa building
in Gaza, toppling its 11 floors with just half an hour's notice.
The building housed the Al Jazeera and the Associated Press
offices. Little more than a year later, the IDF murdered the Al
Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in cold blood, a crime for
which no one has ever been held accountable.
Just last week, a Bill was passed to end the full operations of
Al Jazeera in Israel. The philosopher and holocaust survivor
Hannah Arendt once said that, if you cannot say something, you
are living in a tyranny. For Al Jazeera, nothing at all can now
be said inside the state of Israel. The concerted and systematic
targeting of the Middle East's most prominent journalistic
organisation is indicative of Israel's increasingly undemocratic
tendencies and highly revealing of a state that has scant regard
for the rights, dignity and political aspirations of the
Palestinian people.
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3.45 pm
Recently, a UN representative on human rights said that Israel
had violated at least three of the five acts listed under the UN
genocide convention. So regular are such atrocities that the
acronym WCNSF — wounded child, no surviving family — has become a
medical first, unique to Gaza. Surely that compels all those with
a voice to condemn the genocidal campaign by Netanyahu and his
supporters. Whilst we all share the pain at the atrocities of 7
October and urge the immediate return of the hostages, it is
pressing today that we in the House call for a total ceasefire
and immediate recognition of the state of Palestine and plead
with the international community to renew all efforts to achieve
lasting peace and a two-state solution. What in God's name is
divisive in asking the House to condemn war crimes, the
starvation of innocent children and the bombing of hospitals,
where people are injured and cannot get up out of bed to flee? I
ask every elected representative in the House to truly dig down
deep, ask their conscience, take a long, hard look in the mirror
and support the motion. If you do not, I am really concerned
about your morals, frankly.
"You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates
civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread,
a sheet of glass. A touch here, a push there, and you bring back
the reign of Satan."
Mr Frew: That is an
extract from a 1916 novel named 'The Power-House'. It illustrates
perfectly what war is. We can take peace so much for granted, yet
there are people all over the world who are suffering war.
Currently, there are 35 armed conflicts in Africa, 21 in Asia and
seven in Europe. I suggest that some of us would struggle to name
them. There are six armed conflicts in South America and Central
America. As has already been mentioned, according to the UN,
since 2014, over 150,000 people have been killed in Yemen and an
estimated 227,000 people are dead as a result of ongoing famine
and lack of healthcare facilities due to that war. That is what
war is.
Of course, every one of us here should call for the ending of
war. Just as 9/11 changed everything for the US and, indeed, the
world — remember that we sent troops — 7 October changed
everything for the Israeli people. That is a stark comparison
that must be made.
Mr O'Toole: Will
the Member give way?
Mr Frew: I will
give way once I have made progress.
Israel must have the right to defend itself. How it conducts the
war should be tried and tested at the highest levels of court in
the world, not, I suggest, by the SDLP through its motion, which
is flawed. It grieves me that my party cannot support a motion
that calls for the ending of war. Who are the SDLP Members or
anybody else in the House to decide what is genocide and what is
war? The motion states that 35,000 people are dead: where did
they get that figure? I am not disputing it; I am asking where
they got it.
If it comes from the Ministry of Health, it is from a terrorist
organisation called "Hamas", so we have to be careful.
The sound bites and coverage that we all see on social media have
been mentioned today. A lot of that cannot be attested to, so
where do we get our information? We all have to be careful about
what we view and what we see, because we live in a new age of
technology.
I will give way now.
Mr O'Toole: The
Member has said a few things since I asked him to give way that I
could respond to, but I appreciate his giving way. He is always
open to debate. He said that everything had changed for Israel on
7 October. I acknowledged that 7 October was appalling and
unjustifiable, but will he accept that the logic that he is using
is, effectively, an eye for an eye, meaning that Israel can kind
of do whatever it likes? The equivalent could be said for
Palestinians, who could say that the actions of the last seven
months have changed everything for them and therefore, by that
logic, justify any response from Hamas or, indeed, any other
violent actor. Is it not the case that, ultimately, you need to
de-escalate and scale violence down?
Mr Speaker: The
Member has an extra minute.
Mr Frew: Yes, we
are in the midst of war. How do we de-escalate that war? The
Israeli state tells us — I have no love for the Government of
Israel — that there are two objectives. The first is to bring
home the hostages who are still underneath the ground in those
tunnels, and the second is to completely destroy Hamas. How can
we say that we want peace in the Middle East and that we want a
two-state solution when one of the greatest barriers to that
two-state solution is Hamas? How can we not see that and not add
it to a motion?
Millions of pounds were sent into Gaza, but the Government of
Gaza — Hamas — did not use it the concrete and steel to build
hospitals and schools; they used it to build a network of tunnels
so sophisticated that it compares to the underground network in
New York. War is not the only thing that brings humanitarian
crises and consequences to people; bad government does too.
Therefore, we cannot and should not judge from here, seeing only
limited information about what is going on on the ground. I
appeal to Members to forget about your sound bites and your
politicking. Let us call for a proper ceasefire in order that
something good will come out of the carnage that is being
perpetrated on Israeli families and on Palestinian families, and
let us hope and pray that, some day, there will be lasting peace
in Israel.
Mr Speaker: The
Member's time is up.
Mr McNulty: I
support the motion. Other Members have spoken to the facts and
the statistics: 100,000 Palestinians dead or injured, 70% of them
women and children; and 1·4 million innocent civilians now
cornered in Rafah, corralled like cattle. They were told to move
south towards Rafah for their own safety, but they are now more
vulnerable than ever, with doom and death breathing down their
necks. Ultimately, there are no words that any Member can offer
today that can comfort the besieged and slaughtered people of
Palestine. There are no words that any MLA can offer that will
strike at the heart of the horror that the Palestinian people are
enduring. Our words are not enough, and that is why I want to use
my time today to give ordinary people in Palestine a voice. I
want to amplify the words of those people, who do not know
whether, tomorrow, they will see dawn or doom and whether,
tomorrow, they will see dawn or death.
My friend and SDLP colleague Killian Feehan has spent time in
Gaza bringing help and aid there over the years. He has built
abiding relationships and has reached out to his friends in
Palestine over recent days, first, to see whether they are still
alive and, secondly, so that they can give a voice to those who
are fighting for survival under attack from a genocidal regime. I
will share with you the words of Killian's friend, a young woman
called Tala. At just 30 years old, Tala has witnessed more
destruction and brutality than any of us should see in a hundred
lifetimes. This is what Tala said:
"My heart aches. The pain felt in my beloved Palestine goes
beyond words, touching the soul in a way that even tears cannot
fully express. The entire world now knows of our horror. Silence
and inaction will haunt you all of your life, and you shall
endure the guilt of living next door to genocide. Human beings
are supposed to live together, not to be left to die alone."
Nicola, aged 31, became a father for the first time last year.
His words to Killian cut deep. Nicola said:
"There is nothing more brutal and inhumane than watching your son
die in front of your eyes while you are tied up with no place to
run. Please stop the destruction now. This is the scream of all
fathers in Gaza."
George, at just 24 years of age, implored us to make this plea
today:
"At a time when humanity is being extinguished in Gaza, send us
yours. As the rest of the world turns their back on Gaza, come to
our aid and stand with us."
It is critical that we keep sight of our common humanity and
resist the urge to allow today to descend into whataboutery and
one-upmanship. The words that I quoted were shared with us by
three young Palestinians, three living, breathing human beings
out of millions who now live with no guarantee of seeing
tomorrow. Think about how that feels: millions of people do not
know whether they will see tomorrow.
Those people love their parents just as much as we love ours.
They love their children just as much as we love ours. They yearn
for the same things as we yearn for: food, shelter, safety,
peace, dignity and the freedom to build a better future for
themselves and those around them. It seems obscene to me — it is
obscene — that calling for an end to the slaughter of innocents
has not yet received universal support.
My call today is simple: honour the pleas of innocent men, women
and children. Do the right thing. Demonstrate your humanity.
Demonstrate your morality. End the genocide. Call for peace with
a collective and united voice.
Mr Allister: I
cannot support the motion, because it is partisan and unbalanced.
There is no recognition of the right of Israel to defend itself
even after the most horrendous events of 7 October. Is there even
a recognition in the motion of the right of Israel to exist,
which would have to be the starting point for any solution?
Indeed, the motion does worse than not accepting the right of
Israel to defend itself; it, in fact, expressly wants to deny
Israel the right to defend itself. It calls for:
"an end to arms sales ... to Israel".
How is Israel to defend itself if the House says, "You shouldn't
get any arms"? The inescapable inference from the motion is that
those who tabled it think that Israel should not be able to
defend itself.
Mr O'Toole: I thank
the Member for giving way. First, as others and I have said, the
scale of what Israel has done in the past seven months goes way
beyond any concept of defending oneself.
The Member spoke about Israel existing. If he reads our motion,
he will see that the text affirms support for a two-state
solution, and clearly implicit in recognition of a two-state
solution is that the state of Israel would exist.
Mr Speaker: The
Member has an extra minute.
Mr Allister: The
motion is without a word of rebuke for Hamas. Not a word of
rebuke for its actions since 7 October. Not a word of rebuke for
the thousands of rockets fired into Israel.
Yes, there is a call to stop arms sales to Israel, but not a word
of rebuke for Hamas for bombarding Israel with rockets, night
after night. There is no call in the motion for Hamas, a
terrorist organisation, to give up its assaults or its dogma of
dedication to the annihilation of Israel. There is no call to
recognise the state of Israel. Rather, there is a quite partisan
approach to the whole issue.
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4.00 pm
That partisanship was carried further in the single Sinn Féin
contribution. That contribution did not manage to make any
mention — not a word — of condemnation of Hamas. There was not a
word of condemnation of hostage-taking. Maybe that is no
surprise, coming from a party that does not apologise for but
supports the actions of the IRA in taking hostages. They could
not even bring themselves to condemn the hostage-taking or to
call for the release of hostages. Those same people talk about
morality and lecture those of us who dare to speak against the
motion. In the words of Ms Hunter, they question our morality.
Well, sorry, but morality cuts both ways, and this is a motion
that is crying out for the insertion of some morality in
recognising the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself. It
should contain unbridled condemnation of Hamas. In the absence of
all those things, this is a tawdry motion that is not worthy of
support.
Mr Carroll: It is
important that the Assembly has a chance to discuss the urgent,
pressing need for a ceasefire to be implemented to stop the
Israeli killing machine. Despite all the declarations from this
place about peace and peace processes, it is unforgivable that it
has taken this long to have the debate about condemning genocide
and the actions of Israel. It is long overdue for the Executive
to call for a ceasefire. Rather than cosying up to states and
Governments who fund the slaughter and the apartheid state, the
Executive should call for a ceasefire. They should call for there
to be no engagement with the apartheid state and for the
expulsion of Israeli diplomats from these islands. So far, they
have refused to do so.
The scale of what has been taking place is horrendous and
unimaginable. One can only imagine what it is like for
Palestinians who are trying to live through probably the first
live-streamed genocide of our times. Although the scale is
grotesque, it is not an aberration. The violence did not begin on
7 October. There has been a 7 October every other month or so for
Palestinians, who have been living under terror, occupation and
apartheid since at least 1948 — before that, if you include the
violent British mandate system that was imposed on
Palestinians.
There are a few issues with the motion that need to be mentioned
before this place can hopefully call for a ceasefire. The first
is that it equates the violence of those who are living under
brutal occupation with those who seek to resist and push back
against it. People often say, "What about peaceful protests?" Of
course, that is always the preferred and usual way by which folk
can and do stand against war and slaughter. However, when people
tried to march peacefully for an end to Israeli occupation and
violence, what happened? The Great March of Return was an attempt
to do that. Palestinians with flags and banners were mowed down
like dogs. Hundreds were killed, but there was no outrage from
most Western states. Note the different reaction from states and
Governments. We live in a cruel world: one in which some lives
matter more than others. In that cruel world, in the eyes of most
Governments, Palestinians are always at the bottom of the pile,
their lives do not count and their stories do not matter. They do
matter, however, to the millions of people across the world and
across these islands who have marched to condemn the slaughter
and to call for a ceasefire, the implementation of boycott,
divestment and sanctions (BDS) and the expulsion of Israeli
ambassadors.
Palestine is a litmus test for the world. It is a litmus test for
humanity that people are meeting that test. Across the world — in
the Middle East and elsewhere — most Governments are failing that
test. The EU, Britain and the US are complicit in the slaughter.
They are not just turning a blind eye to it, which would be bad
enough, but are up to their necks in funding and backing it.
Shame on them all.
The people have still marched and taken to the streets. I commend
all those people who have done so. I particularly mention the
students and young people who are marching in the US and camping
out in universities there. Here, I salute the students at Queen's
who have occupied the Lanyon Building today to call on the
Queen's administration to call out the Israeli state.
Palestine is the end of the world that never ends. It is up to
Palestinians to determine what their future looks like, free from
assault, slaughter, massacres and occupation. It is a mistake for
the motion to dictate what that should look like. In my view and
that of many others, it is a mistake to impose a discredited,
unworkable two-state solution on Palestinians, many of whom do
not accept it for many reasons. We have recently seen that even
the US does not want a two-state solution. It has resisted calls
to implement one for decades.
The Oslo Accords gave the green light to the extension of illegal
and immoral Israeli settlements. Palestinians have every right to
dismantle that apartheid system and apartheid state, and we
support them in their right to do so. Unfortunately, the motion
does not support that. Israel has to be seen as a settler,
colonial, apartheid state. Growing numbers of people see it that
way. The logic that should follow, as it did with South Africa,
is that the state and the system should fall.
Despite all the talk of agreeing a ceasefire, what does Israel
do? With all the talk of a possible ceasefire in our midst,
Israel goes to the border at Rafah, states that it will intervene
there and implements slaughter on a mass scale. In that context,
people need to go back to mobilising and to go back on to the
streets to call for a free Palestine from the river to the sea.
People need to end support for that apartheid system, that
apartheid state and that brutal apartheid regime.
Mr Speaker: I call
to make a winding-up speech.
Mr McGrath: Thank
you, Mr Speaker. I begin by thanking all Members who participated
for the way in which they contributed. They added to the
conversation that we need to have, and this is an appropriate
place in which to have it. It has been good to have those
contributions in order to allow us to continue with the
discussions.
The debate was not one for grandstanding, dog-whistling or making
assumptions. One of the key underlying reasons for that is that,
if we have learnt anything in the past 26 years here, it is that
an agreed peace, imperfect though it may be, can be incredibly
fragile. Peace has to be the ultimate goal. It can never be won
by a military operation alone, or through violence or subjugation
of another, but rather by negotiation, agreement and
reconciliation.
I listened to the debate, and I agree with most of the remarks
made. Some were a little bit off the mark, while some were rather
typical. The past 24 hours have been turbulent for the future of
Palestine. We have heard that Hamas has accepted a deal
negotiated by Egypt and Qatar that would allow for a 40-day
ceasefire. We have heard that Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, said that the deal falls short of Israel's wants,
although one has to question what wants he is looking for. Is it
the future of Israel, or are his actions about holding on to
power and remaining as Prime Minister?
Amidst all of that, we have heard that, following Israel's
overnight strikes against Rafah, five people have been killed.
That is just overnight in one event that five civilians have been
killed. What would happen if that were to happen here? What if we
had woken up this morning and found out that five people from
here had died as a result of actions that had taken place? There
would be an outcry in the Chamber from all parties. Nobody would
come in here to defend the actions of one or the other. If five
civilians had lost their lives, there would be an outcry from
everyone. Where is the outcry for the more than 35,000 people who
have died as a result of Israel's bombardment since 7 October?
Where is the outcry for the 14,000 children whose lives have been
taken since 7 October? Do their lives not matter? Do they not
breathe the same air as the rest of us? Do they not bleed the
same blood as we do? Did their lives not have the same potential
as the life of any child who was born in Northern Ireland? They
are children, but to some people in power, they are nothing more
than collateral damage in a conflict that has been raging for
hundreds of years. Their lives are gone, and that cannot be
undone.
We do not support the actions of Hamas: that is written clearly
in the motion. We do not agree with taking hostages or hiding
behind women and children or international workers to achieve
your aims. We do not agree with any of that, but likewise, we do
not agree with the IDF's carpet bombing of schools and hospitals
to achieve its aims. We do not agree with the murder of innocent
women and children. Consequently, we do not agree with the United
States earning $4 billion a year from exporting arms to Israel or
the United Kingdom exporting nearly £600 million of arms since
2008.
While the text of the motion debated today concerns what has
happened since 7 October, it is important to recognise that a
genocide has been happening in Palestine over the past number of
years. It has been a genocide — an ethnic cleansing on an
unsurpassed scale. In the past 70 years, hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian people have been dispossessed of their land,
property, jobs and homes. The people forced to leave their homes
and families have never been able to return.
Of the nine million Palestinians worldwide, only a small number
still live in Palestine. Their lives are constricted and
controlled by the Israeli Government. Walls have been built to
keep Palestinians out. Their water and electric supply is
restricted. If they want to enter Jerusalem, they must request a
special permit. If they want to avail themselves of healthcare,
they often have to travel to another country to do so. Can any of
us imagine if we were asked to live like that?
The deliberate killing of such a vast number of people from that
nation and ethnic group, with the aim of destroying the nation,
is the dictionary definition of genocide. It is not just
something I am saying; it is the dictionary definition — go and
check it. The definition is clear to see.
What about the solution? How are we to find peace? The first step
must and can only be that we stop the killing. Someone has to
step forward and interrupt the cycle of violence, otherwise, it
will roll on and on. That today we can debate and discuss the
matter is a testament to what can be achieved when we stop the
cycle of violence, bloodshed and killing. We know that it took
time. We know that it was and is a painful process. However, the
pursuit of lasting peace is never easy, because, in that process,
there has to be an acknowledgment of the hurt and pain that has
been handed out.
We must see recognition of the state of Palestine. Only then can
the people of the Middle East begin the process of becoming
neighbours. Some have referenced that we have not acknowledged
that Israel has a right to exist. We clearly state that there
should be a two-state solution. It is implicit that the motion
includes Israel. No one is saying that Israel should not have its
place. Others said that we have ignored what Hamas has done. As I
said, the text of the motion is clear, and I have stated that we
do not support that. Reference was made to the other genocides
taking place in other parts of the world, and that is correct,
but the motion is about what is happening in Gaza. It has unique
features that make it more relevant to people here. I suggest
that Members are contacted more about Gaza than other disputes
around the world. Another important thing is that, if we permit
what is happening in Gaza, we give permission to the genocides
that are taking place in other parts of the world.
Top
4.15 pm
Surely we can teach the world what it is to overcome violence and
become good neighbours. That is what we have experience of here.
If we cannot even do that, what is it that we are doing here? I
urge all Members to stand up for peace and for humanity, to join
the call for an immediate ceasefire and to support our motion as
presented today.
Question put.
The Assembly divided:
Ayes 44; Noes 26
AYES
Ms Armstrong, Mr Baker, Mr Blair, Mr Boylan, Ms Bradshaw, Miss
Brogan, Mr Carroll, Mr Delargy, Mr Dickson, Mr Donnelly, Mr
Durkan, Ms Egan, Ms Ennis, Ms Ferguson, Ms Flynn, Mr Gildernew,
Miss Hargey, Mr Honeyford, Ms Hunter, Mr Kelly, Ms Kimmins, Mrs
Long, Mr McAleer, Mr McGlone, Mr McGrath, Mr McGuigan, Mr McHugh,
Ms McLaughlin, Mr Andrew McMurray, Mr McNulty, Mr McReynolds, Mrs
Mason, Mr Mathison, Mr Muir, Ms Mulholland, Ms Á Murphy, Ms Ní
Chuilín, Ms Nicholl, Mr O'Dowd, Mr O'Toole, Miss Reilly, Ms
Sheerin, Ms Sugden, Mr Tennyson
Tellers for the Ayes: Ms Hunter, Ms McLaughlin
NOES
Mr Allen, Mr Allister, Mr Beattie, Mr Brett, Mr Brooks, Ms
Brownlee, Ms Bunting, Mr Butler, Mrs Cameron, Mr Chambers, Mr
Clarke, Mr Dunne, Mr Elliott, Mrs Erskine, Ms Forsythe, Mr Frew,
Mr Harvey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kingston, Mrs Little-Pengelly, Mr Lyons,
Miss McIlveen, Mr Middleton, Mr Nesbitt, Mr Robinson, Mr
Stewart
Tellers for the Noes: Mr Harvey, Mr Kingston
The following Members voted in both Lobbies and are therefore not
counted in the result: Mr Easton
Question accordingly agreed to.
Resolved:
That this Assembly condemns the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has
left more than 35,000 people dead, most of them women and
children; further condemns the actions of Hamas on October 7,
which left 1,300 people dead and many families searching for
loved ones; abhors the killing of international humanitarian aid
workers seeking to deliver vital supplies to the civilian
population on the brink of famine; rejects plans for a ground
assault on the city of Rafah, with a refugee population of more
than one million Palestinians sheltering with nowhere safe to go;
regrets the failure of the international community to act
decisively in the interests of peace; affirms its support for a
two-state solution and the immediate recognition of the state of
Palestine; calls for an immediate ceasefire in the region and the
release of all hostages; further calls for an end to arms sales
and transfers to Israel while the genocide continues; and calls
on the First Minister and deputy First Minister to write jointly
to the UK Prime Minister in pursuit of these objectives.
