Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

I thank the Deputy. The footage we saw yesterday speaks to the Deputy's point. One thinks one cannot be shocked further when it comes to the actions of the Israeli Government but then we see further footage that shocks again and again. While we do not have a direct report as to whether or not any of our Irish citizens have been physically harmed, because the Israeli Government has not let us to have direct contact with them, the very fact we saw an Irish woman in that video being forcibly shoved to the ground and all of the citizens being detained with their hands bound behind their back and faces on the ground in itself is treatment which is absolutely appalling. Of course, my priority is to understand as soon as possible whether or not there has been any further serious harm done to our citizens and, indeed, any other citizens. When they arrive in the airport, they will be met by our ambassador in Istanbul. I hope before then we will have direct contact but, if not, we will have direct contact with our citizens then. I hope to get more information to the Houses beyond that.
The only way in which we can respond to this effectively is by making sure Europe uses its voice and takes action in response to what we have seen today, what we have seen in recent weeks and what we have seen in recent months. I stress again that the approach from Ireland has always been to try to build a consensus. I am not just saying it now because of what has happened this week. We have, for many months, been very clear in ensuring this remains on the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council and advocating for a consensus, a joined up approach and response to what has been happening in Gaza, in the West Bank and more recently the actions we have seen around the death penalty, the public executions and prosecutions as well as the interception this week.
The best way we can show we are serious is by voting to suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israeli Association Agreement. It is by putting a new proposal on the table that would ban trade with the illegal occupied territories. We know it is illegal. Europe has accepted the international ruling in this regard. We need to be strong and we need to collectively respond to this ruling and then move on our own legislation as well.
I have always said that I believe moving on our legislation would be better if done in tandem, and I have not changed that position. That is why I am working with colleagues from the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia and other countries who are also progressing their own legislation, so we do this collectively and send a very strong message. The way in which we show not just dissatisfaction with the way in which the Israeli Government has been acting, but that it is something Europe will not tolerate is by imposing greater sanctions that will impact their economy overall. If we suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israeli Association Agreement it will, essentially, impact Israel's overall economy by billions of euro. I believe that is the strongest response we can take at this time.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21