Member's statement: Gaza War: Ceasefire

Member's statement by Ms Kate Nicholl on 20 January 2025.

MLA

Ms Kate Nicholl

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

20 January 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Gaza War: Ceasefire

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4744145

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the recent deal in the Middle East and recognise the hope that it has brought to people across the world. For the past 15 months, MLAs have been meeting unofficially with members of Palestinian community and people who are and have been directly affected. It has been sobering. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way, but, when I put my children to bed every night, I feel an enormous sense of relief and privilege that I live in a place where my children are safe and they can dream of a better future. For so long, the children of Gaza have been denied that. Now, finally, there is hope for better. At one of our meetings, there was a man who had recently returned from Gaza. He is a doctor in Dublin. He talked about how he was walking along a path with his extended family. He was carrying his niece on his back, and, as they were walking, he was hoping that that child would not see the bodies along the road. The impact of that and the trauma that he experienced at that time has stayed with me.

I do not think that we can overestimate the impact of the last 15 months. Collectively, our focus now needs to be on ensuring that humanitarian aid is able to reach children and families in Gaza. There needs to be increased access and safety, especially for humanitarian workers. There also needs to be accountability. During the week, I spoke to a Palestinian doctor who works in one of our hospitals. I asked him how he felt, and he said that he had mixed emotions. There is such relief, but, just six weeks before, so many members of his family had been killed. He questioned whether, if the ceasefire had happened sooner, they would still be alive and said that he still fears for others. He said that, if there was anything that we as politicians could do to raise awareness and push for aid, we should. We will host another meeting with members of the community and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) about its appeal and how we can support additional support in Gaza. He also referred to family visa schemes and said that they account for a very small proportion of those who are here. Those people contribute to our economy. His wife is a teaching assistant, and he is a doctor. If we can reunite families, that will really be something. There is still work for us to do. International guarantors have to play their part. For now, our hearts are with those who have been impacted on, those who are mourning loved ones and the hostages who will, very soon, be finally reunited with their families. It has been an awful 15 months, and there is so much for us to learn from this. We need to look at the root problems. It did not start on 7 October. The international community has to push for a two-state solution and lasting peace.

513 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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