Dear Members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs,

I am deeply concerned by reports that Hamas are now rearming and preparing to launch their fourth war against Israel in a little over five years. This will have tragic consequences for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

In particular, I am disturbed to read that Hamas’ co-founder has publicly pledged that it will “build new tunnels”; that pro-Hamas newspapers have published stories where reporters accompany those constructing them; and that there have been media reports in Israel of sightings of massive excavations near the Gaza border. It is also clear that Hamas is restocking its arsenal with a new generation of home-produced rockets, testing rockets over the Mediterranean, and attempt to smuggle materials such as liquid fiberglass into Gaza. Finally, Hamas has announced the formation of a new “popular army” and last month ran half-term camps in which 17,000 Gazan teenagers and young men were drilled by its military wing in exercises which included simulations of launching attacks through tunnels and kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

I believe that news of a rapprochement between Iran and Hamas and Ayatollah Khamenei’s pledge that the “West Bank will be armed just like Gaza” adds to this very worrying picture.

The notion that a future Palestinian state will be ‘non-militarised’ rested at the heart of the Oslo Accords and every subsequent diplomatic initiative. It is supported by both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government. Moreover, without disarming armed groups in the Gaza Strip, efforts at reconstruction will continue to be hampered, while the ‘blockade’ of Gaza by Israel and Egypt restricts not only the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory, but with it any prospect of much-needed economic development, prosperity and the alleviation of poverty.

I urge you, therefore, to press the Irish government to take the lead in assembling international support for a plan to stop Hamas’ next war and thereby help ensure peace and prosperity for the peoples of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

I would ask that you write to ministers registering your support for the following:

First, the Irish government must pledge that the strong desire of the US and western powers to secure a nuclear deal with Iran does not reduce pressure on Iran over its other destabilising policies in the region.

Second, the UN security council should pass a resolution imposing sanctions on any nation which attempts to transfer weapons to Hamas and other militant groups. And it should go further and provide for disarmament inspectors who would oversee the destruction of rockets, mortars and other heavy weaponry in Gaza. The Irish Government should make every effort to pass and support the implementation of this resolution and inspection regime.

Third, implementing that disarmament process will require Hamas’ cooperation. So it should be presented with a clear choice by Israel, Egypt, the Quartet, the Arab League and PA: disarmament in return for development. As the Labor MK Omer Barlev has proposed, a two-year process would see Israel agreeing to the building of an airport and opening of a seaport in return for disarmament. The initial development work on raising international funding and tendering for the airport can start as soon as Hamas signs up, with the seaport and airport ready for full operation at the end of the process. The Irish Government should work with our international partners to support this offer.