Member's statement: Gaza War: Ceasefire
Member's statement by Mr Declan Kearney on .
- MLA
- Mr Declan Kearney
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 18 March 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Gaza War: Ceasefire
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4860217
Read the official Assembly record
Text
At the outset of the Gaza ceasefire, I spoke of the hope of children in Gaza that they would be able, for the first time in a year, to look to the skies with hope and not fear. However, I also cautioned about what was required to ensure that the ceasefire would apply: adherence to the terms of the ceasefire and the importance of having guarantors that would underpin the implementation of the ceasefire. This morning, I woke to messages from Palestinian leaders in Gaza and the West Bank urging action against the latest atrocity by the Israeli regime and showing images of children's butchered, cold and lifeless bodies. Up to 400 people have been killed in Gaza since the attacks this morning, and more will die as a result: the death toll will increase. In recent weeks, since the ceasefire began, over 100 people had already been killed. Israel has violated all the terms of the ceasefire since its beginning. It has blocked tents, homes and aid. In the past 12 days, all aid has been blocked from getting into the Gaza Strip, and electricity supplies have been stopped. Those are acts not of peacebuilding but of terrorism. The terrorist regime of Netanyahu has determined that it will continue to wage its genocide in Gaza by other means. The genocide in Gaza is not just a war against Palestinian children and women; it has become a war against multilateral systems, international law, diplomacy and humanity. It is inconceivable that action cannot be taken against the Israeli regime at this time. To fail to act is to be complicit in the destruction of the Palestinian people and their homeland. All red lines have been crossed. Only one moral and diplomatic choice is left, which is to isolate Israel internationally and enforce boycott, divestment and sanctions.
The reality is clear. Israel can have security only through peace. It will never have peace through war crimes and atrocities.
326 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: 0.15 (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 (0.60).
- 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 | 0.38 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.16 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.20 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.11 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.33 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.15 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.60 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.17 |
| Adopts it | 0.23 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.37 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.31 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.17 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.10 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.03 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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