I thank all the Deputies for their very sincere and heartfelt contributions to the debate on this very important and extremely complex issue. The strength of opinion and depth of feeling held across the House on the situation in Palestine is very clear and the Government fully acknowledges the desire to take action in response to persistent Israeli breaches of human rights and international law. The Government also understands the urge to do more, to move the dial and to bring an end to the terrible suffering of the people of Palestine, particularly those in Gaza. Respect for international law is at the core of Ireland's foreign policy. Ireland has been consistently vocal in calling for Israel to comply with its obligations under international law, and Ireland continues to pursue action through the international courts to address breaches of international law and international human rights in Palestine. We condemn Israel's illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories. As Deputies are aware, in July 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; a case in which Ireland made written and oral submissions. Ireland subsequently co-sponsored a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2024 seeking to implement the court's advisory opinion. We have also welcomed the ICJ advisory opinion in October 2025, which automatically affirmed Israel's obligation under international law regarding the presence and activities of the UN under international organisations and third states in occupied Palestinian territories. We continue to urge Israel to immediately remove its restrictions on aid access and facilitate essential supplies and services into and throughout Gaza. We are seeing long-overdue momentum at European level following co-ordinated pressure by Ireland and other like-minded states. Ireland strongly welcomes political agreement at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting last Monday to proceed with sanctions against volitant settlers in the West Bank and organisations that enable them. This is a crucial step in response to the accelerating expansion of settlement activities and settler violence in the West Bank in an atmosphere of impunity. There is clear, growing support for additional measures at an EU level in response to Israel's persistent breaches of international law, and Ireland has called on the EU to suspend the EU-Israel associated agreements or, at the very least, to suspend the trade element of the agreement, as previously proposed by the Commission President in September 2025. The Government will continue to press for appropriate EU-level action in response to the egregious Israeli breaches of human rights and domestic principles. The viability of the two-state solution and the credibility of the EU is at stake if we do not act. At the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, called on the Commission to bring forward proposals to prohibit trade with Israeli settlements, with a view to agreeing a decision at the next meeting of the council in June. At EU level, a ban on trade with settlements would have had a significant impact and been necessary to ensure that the EU was compliant with its obligations under international law, as clarified by the advisory opinion of the ICJ. The Government will continue to press for this step, working with like-minded partners in the EU. In parallel, the Government remains committed to progressing the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories Bill of 2025. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has set out the approach that the Government has taken in this regard. We believe the position we take and the actions for which we advocate must be grounded in law and capable of being effectively implemented. Regrettably, for the reasons set out by the Minister, this has not been the case for this Private Members' Bill. While we have fundamental policy differences with the present Government of Israel and with the actions it is taking, we must be very clear that Ireland does not have, nor does it support, a policy of boycotting Israel or any sovereign state with which we have diplomatic relations. This Private Members' Bill would amount to a full economic boycott of Israel.

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