Debate contribution: End Israeli Impunity in Gaza

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew McMurray on 24 June 2025.

MLA

Mr Andrew McMurray

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

24 June 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

End Israeli Impunity in Gaza

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5047456

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I speak today as an Alliance Party MLA, but, perhaps more than that, I turn my face to look at the issue. I admit that I have not always done so. As Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's international editor, put it:

"the only way some can cope is to stop looking."

As a parent of two children and a husband, how could I look? I could not process the images that I was seeing, so I turned away. Although the current situation seems intractable, it has not always been thus. In preparing for the debate and reading around the subject, I was brought back to the early 1990s and to my first politically conscious thought on the region, which was that Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton were peacebuilders. It was also around that time that I noticed our own predisposition to the issue: Star of David Israeli flags went up on one side of the Ormeau Bridge, while Palestinian flags went up on the other. I turned away again. After listening to some of the interactions between the first few Members who have spoken, I feel like turning away again. It is brutal. I can turn away no longer. My commute from Castlewellan to Ballynahinch, Carryduff, Forestside and then Stormont is pretty much the length of the Gaza Strip, but what a world away: the drumlins of south Down compared with the militarised zone and associated encampments of two million people, the majority of whom are displaced. Some 92% of houses and 70% of structures have been destroyed. That is the reality of the militarised zone that is the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have said that roads leading to aid hubs are to be considered combat zones. A road to aid is to be considered a combat zone: I cannot comprehend that. The Red Cross has said that no one should die while trying to get aid for themselves and their families or while giving aid to others, but, unfortunately, that has come to pass. By my maths, if three million meals are going to two million people, that is half a day's worth of food per person. I acknowledge the work of my colleague Kate Nicholl. As Members may know, she cannot be here today, and thus I have the chance to turn and face some of the horrors.

Ms Nicholl has been working closely with the Palestinian community here, many of whom have lost family members in Gaza. I am proud of Kate and how she has turned to face the issue. In doing so, she has helped me to turn and face it. I also thank those in my constituency who have organised around the issue. Constituents have taken Palestinian children into their homes, and there are constituents who have had quiet conversations with me on the subject and articulated their views. You have all helped me to turn and face the issue. There are granules of hope. Not every Palestinian supports the terrorism of Hamas, and not every Israeli supports the political trajectory of Netanyahu.

Certainly. Will I get a minute?

I am not sure that I can vote for the amendment, mostly because it removes the motion's reference to arms sales and transfers, which is essentially what is causing a lot of this. I am afraid that I cannot do that. Again, I point to the positives. We have Wahat Salam/Neve Shalom, which translates as "Oasis of Peace". That is a settlement of Israelis and Palestinians who are trying to live together. I recall the conversation with visiting Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Christian Palestinian who lives in Bethlehem. He said that he observes Ramadan and his Muslim friends observe Christmas and Lent because, as he put it:

"It is what respectful neighbours do".

There are still people who will not let divisions become chasms, although there is a danger of that happening, with all the associated intergenerational trauma. Our present attitude is about building a secure peace for the future of Israel and Palestine. We support the motion. There are a lot of elements to it. I am not an expert on those elements, and the experts do not always agree on them. For me, there is a simple logic diagram to follow —.

Yes.

I have no problem condemning the terrorist actions of Hamas. Not a problem. I have already done it. You have asked me the same question again, but that is OK.

I will call for the release of hostages.

Yes, I have nearly finished

I was not sure about whether to continue because there is a lot of chuntering. I know that you like robust debate.

There is a simple logic diagram on the motion. Is what is going on in Gaza wrong? If the answer is, "Yes", which it is, the logic diagram points to supporting the motion. As my mother would say, "Wrong is wrong". Putting politics aside, I thank the individuals, groups, NGOs and political parties that have helped me to turn and face this situation.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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