Benjamin Netanyahu’s IDF have been involved in some of the worst atrocities have been committed anywhere in the world in the past 50 years. A total of 75,811 people have been killed in a few short years in the conflict in Gaza - 73,770 Palestinians and 2,039 Israelis. The word disproportionate does not cut it. This has been the slaughter of the people. It has been the intentional killing of tens of thousands of innocent women and children. Horrific images of blood-soaked children have flooded onto our screens and in the past number of years. Many of these children have been atomised by bombs supplied by Western countries. The Israeli Government is also facilitating the stealing of land in the West Bank. The IDF are now involved in a killing spree in Lebanon, demolishing whole swathes of villages, towns and cities. The IDF have pulled in the US into bombing Iran which is causing the cost-of-living crisis all around the world. On the one hand, the Government is saying that the Israel is involved in genocide and on the other hand that we should play a soccer match against Israel. The Minister of State should think about the incongruence of that. The Government supports this soccer match against the perpetrators of genocide on this planet. The Government has an incredibly two-tiered approach to this - one approach for Russia and one for Israel. Why is that the case? It is simply because of the international community. The Government does not have the backbone to have a consistent approach in these two very similar situations. We believe we should be doing far more than we are doing here. Ireland has a history as a campaigner for peace and justice. We have had our own peace process. Our peacekeepers have put their lives on the line for peace internationally. Irish missionaries have fed the poor, and built schools and hospitals all around the world. Ireland has a history of being an honest broker in relation to peace. Norway, another small country with similar population, worked hard and created the Oslo Accords. Norway focused its reputation and experience on becoming a catalyst for peace. We in Aontú have been calling on the Government to get off its backside and do the same to try to become a catalyst for peace in this region. We are not saying it will be easy. It may well end in failure but peace is always worth trying for. Ireland has lived in the shadow of a powerful military neighbour for centuries. Our experience is very similar to the experience of the Palestinians. Britain has murdered and killed Irish people through bullets and famine in their hundreds of thousands and many Irish people see themselves in the eyes of the people of Palestine. Given this shared experience, the Government’s actions are even harder to understand.

Sentiment score: 0.06