Paul Murphy: Government words, not action on Gaza

Thanks a lot. Yeah I have to say that the minister's speech really encapsulates the cynicism of this government on the issue of Palestine and the written copy that we have which is the first time I've ever seen it which literally contains the social media clips start of clip end of clip ends on two different occasions again encapsulates the government's approach in the in the clip bit you're talking about all the good stuff you're going to do at a European level and how hopeful you are about how are things are going to happen at European level and then the clip ends and then that's why I cannot support this bill in its current form but don't worry nobody should mistake opposition to this bill for silence or indifference don't worry I don't think people will mistake it for silence actually I don't think you're going to be silent I think that's part of the government approach I think we're going to keep getting loads of words you know problem giving words but what you have a problem with is action any action like fundamentally the government has is in a difficult political position on the one hand you have people like those in the galleries the tens of thousands of people who've come out to protest again and again and again for Palestine the massive public support for Palestine on the one side but on the other side is your increasing integration into US imperialism your connection your reliance on US multinationals and therefore a refusal or certainly a massive pressure not to do anything to upset Donald Trump and US capitalism and how you have tried to effectively untie this Gordian knot for yourselves is to decide on a strategy of rhetoric without action we'll call it genocide very good it's very important we'll condemn it we'll speak out about it but we will effectively refuse to do anything it's it's why it's eight years since Frances Black's bill was first introduced and the minister tells us that she is committed to progressing the occupied territory spill I mean that that's a joke everyone knows it's a joke and you're going to stand there and tell us no don't worry it's actually going to come it's actually going to come when you have devoted your energies to watering it down slowing it down and I think trying to block it absolutely entirely against the wishes of the foreign affairs committee all party saying it needs to happen quickly needs to happen with trade and services against the vote of this doll last year we brought forward a bill on our motion on the occupied territories bill passed unanimously by this doll to say by Christmas it should happen with goods and services and yet you have used your position not to progress it but to delay it it's why supposedly the government has been conducting an examination for two years into the illegal flights of weapons through our airspace without permission to be used by the IDF and this is an examination that I put a PQ in every few months on it's still ongoing can't tell me when it's possibly going to end the strategy of the government is words without actions and so we have here we have a proposed meaningful action and you know the minister says this this would amount to boycott divestment and sanctions on Israel well well yes it's precisely what we need on the state of Israel how can anyone say that a state that is committing genocide a state that is built on apartheid a state that is built on forcible ethnic cleansing throwing people out of their land shouldn't be boycotted divested from and sanctioned but I would say I think it's a point Ebony Boyd Barrett made but I think this strategy of words without actions is getting the government into a very significant legal problem you have a problem because one of the strong words that you chose to use and we welcome it and we pushed for it we pushed for it for a long time before you said it but is you formally the government formally said that Israel is committing genocide he the Taoiseach first formally stated that in May of 2025 so you can't say you don't know that Israel is committing genocide because you've you've said it you've declared that Israel is committing genocide but we don't live in a world where legally noticing that someone's committing genocide doesn't mean anything it's it's meant to mean something you're meant to do something about it and to quote again from the international court of justice in the Bosnian genocide case a state's obligation to prevent and their corresponding duty to act act not just words arise at the instant that the state learns of or should normally have learned of the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed but we're well well beyond that by May of 2025 because the government states that not just that they suspect it or it may be happening that genocide is happening and article one of the genocide convention says that genocide whether committed in time of peace or in time of war is a crime under international law with states that are party to the convention which includes Ireland undertake to prevent and to punish article five states that the contracting parties undertake to enact in accordance with their respective constitutions the necessary legislation to give effect to the provisions of the present constitution so then why did the state recognize genocide and do precisely nothing to prevent and punish that crime worse than that actually act to stop to delay to vote against legislation designed to prevent and to punish that crime if you know that Israel is committing genocide and you oppose bills that are proposed to try and put pressure on Israel to stop the genocide that is ongoing what does that make you what does make that make the rest of the government it makes you complicit in genocide and I've had Pascal Dunhu before be deeply offended by anyone saying that it's a very bad thing for someone to say about someone else that they're complicit in genocide but how else do you want it to be spun if you know that a genocide is happening and yet you're against doing taking action to try to stop it the other argument that the government uses is that it is effectively illegal for us to act unilaterally against Israel and to say that every action must be taken collectively by the EU it's simply not true last October the parliament of the Spanish state passed a total arms embargo against Israel into law it permanently bans the sale of all weapons military equipment and crucially also dual use technology to Israel in response to the genocide in Gaza that law formalizes a de facto ban that has been in operation since Israel's genocidal war against the Palestinian people began in October 2023 and contrast that with the position of the Irish government and its fine words but what was revealed yesterday by the currency that the department of enterprise approved 20 million euros in dual use exports in other words exports that could be used for military purposes not just to Israel not just Israel but to the IDF the Israeli defense forces their army and the ministry of defense in 2024 at the height of its genocidal slaughter of the Palestinians that was revealed only in heavily redacted FOI documents that cover what the dual use items were for I heard deputy Barry Ward on the radio earlier trying to suggest that this was perhaps some sort of HR software for the IDF because of all the redactions we've no idea if that's accurate or not perhaps the minister can tell us what the goods were who were the companies exporting to the IDF but even if you granted it that it was that was correct that it wasn't anything that was going to be used in weaponry and so on it was HR software what why would why would the IDF be using buying extra HR software during the slaughter of Palestinians in 2024 well maybe it was because they needed to expand their payroll because they were paying many more soldiers to shoot innocent children in the head to blow up whole families in apartment blocks to bomb hospitals bomb ambulances and double attack attack attacks to leave babies to die in ICUs to rape and torture political prisoners that's what the IDF does any goods being sent to the IDF are used for these purposes that's what they were doing on a daily basis in 2024 it's still what they're doing today despite the so-called ceasefire the FOI documents then show a kind of belated development of conscience in 2025 starting the blocking of dual use exports to the IDF but this inexcusable hesitation in taking action to prevent genocide as it was actually happening in front of their eyes shows that we cannot trust this government to comply with complicated trade rules and regulations we need to take away all discretion from this cowardly double-speaking government and put a clear ban on all trade with Israel into law just like the government was forced to do when it banned trade with apartheid south africa there can be no more room for them to equivocate or to delay and i just pose a question to you i mean the government allowed a conscience vote yesterday on the social democrats bill in terms of abortion rights and why can't you allow a conscience vote on the question of genocide surely of all the issues of conscience in the world you should allow your own backbench TDs to decide whether they want to do something to stop this genocide whether they want to go along with the government's complicity in genocide surely you should allow them that choice and i would say to government TDs and those who support the the government not to hide behind any misleading waffle which they like to use about legal technicalities and so on but to examine their conscience they know there's a genocide happening do they think we should be trading with this genocidal apartheid state or they think it's time for Ireland to do whatever we can to try and stop it thank you