Aengus Ó Snodaigh: 'It is happening' - Demands Sanctions

Go raibh maith agat, Minister. You just happen to be the target here today and it's not aimed at you personally but the fine words or the well-meaning words that you read out are hollow. Genocide is happening as we speak, has been happening for a long time and there's been no action, no proper action in which the Israeli state will pay heed to. They've ignored every single supposed procession by this government and by other European governments and we need to take action and that's why this bill is before you today but it is also not the only reason it's before you today. It's because you and previous governments have failed, failed miserably to take action over the years as the Israeli state flaunted international laws. In 2004 I asked the question of the then Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen and the question was quite a simple one. I was asking at the time will he use the EU presidency to propose a suspension of preferential trade with Israel on the basis of persistent and systematic human rights violations. Here we are 22 years later and I'm still appealing to the government to ensure that the EU does exactly what it says on the tin. Any trade, preferential trade agreement, neighborhood agreements with Israel or any other country for that matter who are abusing international norms, who are abusing the human rights or who are engaged in slaughter, engaged in genocide. Those trade agreements should be suspended immediately and then sanctions need to be imposed as they continue. We haven't done that. It was EU was very, very quick to jump through a hoop to impose sanctions on Russia. Israel has slaughtered a lot, lot worse than what Russia has done in Ukraine and that's not to say that the Russians are right in any way. We were right to impose the sanctions on Russia but we're right to impose sanctions on Israel and it should have been done a long, long time ago. If this government and the other European governments have paid heed to the call 20 years ago, maybe, maybe, God forbid, that the slaughter that has happened and is ongoing in Israel, in Gaza, in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Iran, wouldn't have happened. But no, because we ignored our own rules, their rules that were in place in those agreements, we ignored them, we didn't impose them, we didn't suspend the trade agreements. So we sent out the message, it's okay, carry on, kind of, you're not going to be punished for it and they weren't punished and they're still not punished and there is still nobody, kind of, in the EU, other than those countries who've had the strength to stand up, are imposing sanctions, are not punishing Israel for exactly what it's doing in Palestine today. We also need to look at what we can do here in Ireland and we need to have the boycott of Israel, the cultural boycott, the university boycott and the sporting boycott and I'll come back to some of them in a minute. But in terms of Galway University, it needs to cut its links to Technion University. That's the university which refers to itself as the research and development wing of the IDF. What in God's name has any Irish university doing, having any types of links with an Israeli university that, in this current day and age, are especially given its links with the IDF. It's a public body, don't forget, the university. We need to cut all ties and the message should go out, not just from the opposition benches, but from the government, that all universities should cut the ties to those who are involved in genocide. It's pure and simple. I published this week a bill which is Controller Order General Due Diligence Genocide Audit Bill and that was to give effect to our obligations under international laws to audit all of our cultural, diplomatic, economic, financial, political and military relations with Israel to ensure that we are not contributing or otherwise assisting Israel's serious violations of international laws. That needs to be passed. I shouldn't need to be coming in here moving legislation. That should have been a given. The government should have immediately acted on that and that's not a call by me, that's a call by international lawyers, that's a call by the International Criminal Court. It's the duties we have when we know that there's a genocide happening and yet it is the likes of myself or Deputy Richard Boyd-Barratt or others, Senator Francis Black, who are continuously trying to appeal to you through legislation, but through questions, through other debates, to do the right thing, to stand up and be counted. You haven't even joined the Hay Group, who are also taking actions. You haven't stood up as Spain has stood up, yet you crow around the world and saying how great we are in terms of Palestine. Yes, we are better than some other countries, but we're a lot, lot worse because we have identified the issues and the stances we can take in this country and yet the government has failed to do so and that is on you, Minister, and that's why we need to take the actions that are included in this bill and on other bills. We need to be seen to act, not just talk, because by the time the European Union will act, the Palestinian people will be flung to the far sides of the world and that's the intention of the Israelis. They're intending of the clearances as happened in Scotland and as happened in places of Ireland. They want to ensure that there's no Palestinian population left in Palestine. That's the intention and we've seen it, we've heard it, we've seen the maps, we've seen the actions of the Israeli government and we need to stand up and stand on the right side on this. Stand up and be counted and stand against the genocide that's happening in Palestine and kind of of late in Lebanon. We need to ensure that those who are involved in those actions are punished and punished rightly. We need to ensure, given, especially I think it's appropriate that this this is the eve of the anniversary of the Nakba, that we're not going to stand by and allow Israel to slaughter all around us, to exile hundreds of thousands more or displace hundreds of thousands or millions more Palestinians and I think we should stand proud. There are brilliant people in civil society in Ireland who have taken action, who are marching day in, day out, picketing, organising events, meetings and that right across this country but they've been let down by the government who have made promises and who haven't lived up to those promises. So I'd hope that people would join with us again this this Saturday in Dublin at one o'clock as another march to mark Nakba Day but also to stand in solidarity with those who have endured the slaughter by the Israelis for not only the last number of years but for generations at this stage and so I support this bill. I support the intentions of the BDS movement and I think we need to act and there should be no prevarication on this.