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Dear Minister Coveney Israel has begun demolishing Palestinian structures in the Silwan area of occupied and illegally annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem. Sixteen families are under imminent threat of home demolitions, with over 4000 facing the threat of eviction or home demolitions across Jerusalem. Residents attempting to save their community have been met with brutal violence at the hands of Israeli occupation forces. This is part of Israel's demographic manipulation of Jerusalem to remove Palestinians, and is a clear example of systematic ethnic cleansing. In the case of Silwan, Palestinians are being pushed out to make way for an Israeli park. While I understand that the Irish government says that it opposes these crimes, words of condemnation are not enough. Ireland has an obligation to uphold international law, which includes holding Israel meaningfully accountable for these illegal acts. Time and time again the Govermnent has issued statements acknowledging the illegality of Israeli settlements, and calling for Israel to cease demolishing Palestinian homes. Most recently of course the Dáil voted to recognise that Israel has de facto illegally annexed not just East Jerusalem, but all the illegal settlements. But statements alone, no matter how scathing, are not sufficient to protect Palestinian rights; they must be backed up by meaningful and concrete action as Israel continues to ignore international law. Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah are high profile cases at the moment, but are by no means unique. Indeed, taking into context the wholescale oppression of the Palestinian people, Human Rights Watch have recently declared Israel to be guilty of the crimes against humanity of Apartheid and Persecution, the latest in a series of human rights organsiations to level such charges. Yet Israel has amply demonstrated it will continue to flout international law and commit human rights abuses for as long as it faces no real consequences. IRELAND MUST ACT Ireland, as a member of the UN Security Council and as a widely respected international actor has both a duty and a responsibility to champion and defend international law. Recalling that international law serves to protect us all and prevent the tyranny of the strong over the weak, the IPSC calls upon Ireland to take the lead in imposing measures to further prevent the erosion of trust in our agreed international institutions and norms. * I call upon the Irish government to urgently issue a public condemnation of Israel’s actions and demand that Israel immediately cease the unlawful application of Israeli civil law and practices upon occupied East Jerusalem. * I echo the call from Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq asking “the international community to cooperate to bring to an end, including through coercive measures such as sanctions, Israel’s occupation, colonisation, and apartheid regime, as well as the prolonged denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homes, lands, and property, as mandated by international law.” * I further call on the Irish government to recognise that providing an effective deterrent and effective remedy to gross violations carried out against Palestinian civilians should for Ireland mean expediting the long-delayed passage of the Occupied Territories Bill into law; ending the participation of the Garda Síochána in the ROXANNE Programme, and closing the IDA office in Tel Aviv. Please let me know what the Irish Government plans to do to protect Palestinians in Silwan as a matter of urgency. Yours sincerely,