de Brún intervention on Gaza- Ard Fheis

1 March, 2008

The people of Gaza are being subjected to mass punishment by Israel. The actions of Israel over the past few months in Gaza have been reprehensible. This motion before you calls for calls for the immediate end of the intolerable blockade of the Gaza Strip and the brutal isolation of its people. No other solution exists which will alleviate the suffering of people in Gaza.

The bar on freedom of movement to people in Gaza must be ended. Already imprisoned by the occupation Palestinians are now caged even tighter and even more indiscriminately.

Once aging we of course express our solidarity with Palestine and with all Palestinians. International action is the best way to put pressure on Israel to respect the human and national rights of Palestinians.

We must act.  The EU must implement Article 2 of the Association Agreement between the Israeli government and the European Community - an article that says that the agreement will be suspended if the Israeli government fails to respect human rights.