Debate contribution: Gaza: Immediate Ceasefire
Debate contribution by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 7 May 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Gaza: Immediate Ceasefire
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4488398
Read the official Assembly record
Text
My heart breaks for every person impacted by the atrocities in Gaza without exception, and I support the motion. It should not cause controversy to stand in the Chamber and clearly state that we need to see an end to the horrific violence in Gaza. The grave war crimes go beyond any sense or reason in this world. I condemn the Israeli Government's depraved collective punishment of Palestinians and Hamas's grotesque attacks on 7 October. I support calls for the release and safe return of all hostages. There must be an immediate ceasefire and mediation to implement a two-state solution, creating lasting and cooperative peace across the region. This cannot go on. When we sit and see the posts on social media, on our phones or on our TVs, it can feel distant, and we can feel disconnected from the atrocities, but this is reality, and it is happening right now. Look at the devastation hitting Rafah: hundreds of thousands of civilians being forced to flee the city — a city already overcrowded and with a dire lack of food, water and medication — in fear for their lives. Where do those people go? We must call out Israel's collective punishment of the people of Gaza. It is shameful that the UK Government facilitates the devastation by removing funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is responsible for getting the essentials for survival to those in Palestine. The ongoing and horrific violations of international law have led to mass death and, with that, mass grief. Communities who, just like you and I, have hopes of building a better life for their children and younger generations and those around them in their communities are experiencing immense suffering, unlike us in the Chamber today, who, after going back and forth with our words and motions, will go home to our warm beds and hot showers while they fight for their lives in apocalyptic conditions, cramped into rooms with dozens of others, unable to access sanitised water and facing extreme nutritional deficiencies. We cannot stand silent over the devastating cycle of violence and genocidal acts. The atrocities are innumerable in so many ways and to so many people. All of it is despicable. I hope that this is not an issue for politicking; these are people's lives. I genuinely thank the SDLP for tabling the motion in a way that a lot of people, I hope, will support. I also pay tribute to Sinéad, as chair of the all-party group on UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women, peace and security. As chair of the group, Sinéad coordinated a letter with other members. We wrote to the president of the UN Security Council, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, and Micheál Martin TD. A lot of people in our communities want to see us doing something and having our voices heard. I was happy to stand with that, with others, when the Assembly was not sitting, to try to make the case for lasting peace and ceasefire and to highlight the horrendous treatment of women and girls in the region and the violence that they are experiencing. This should not be a debate. We should always, in every instance, call for peace, safety and security. Our commitment to a two-state solution reflects our belief in the principles of self-determination, mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence. When we look at what has been allowed to occur to the Palestinian people over the last decades and months and even the past weekend, we know that something has to give. Where does all the death and destruction end? In Northern Ireland, we often pride ourselves on being kind, helpful and neighbourly to those in our towns and cities. We must extend that internationally to help secure a just future for every Palestinian and Israeli so that they can live in peace, safety and dignity, with equal rights.
659 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.10 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.84).
- Subject area: Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.11 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.04 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.06 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.41 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.10 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.84 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.15 |
| Adopts it | 0.01 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.24 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.21 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.18 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.16 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.15 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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