Debate contribution: End Israeli Impunity in Gaza
Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 24 June 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- End Israeli Impunity in Gaza
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5047723
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Go and look at history book. If you look up the word al-Nakba, you will find that it started well before that. Researchers believe that, at the moment, the death toll could be twice as high, with almost 100,000 people killed by Israel. That is according to 'The Lancet' — not the Lancet Hamas journal but the scientific journal. Israel acts with impunity while the West does nothing. On 1 May, heavy military transport took off from an Israeli airbase and stopped off the coast of Malta. In the seas below, a passenger vessel was carrying food and medicine for the people of Gaza — civilians who were sick, starving and dying due to a two-month aid blockade imposed by Israel. While the Israeli military plane circled above, suicide drones rocked the ship below. At risk of sinking, the ship was forced to stop, and its aid was left undelivered. If a rival of the West launched a potentially lethal attack on a humanitarian vessel just outside the territorial waters of an EU member state, there would be global outrage and, I suspect, sanctions, but Israel is an ally of the West, not an enemy. It seems that, in this debate, everyone bar Israel is the enemy, so no punishment is required. There are no consequences for a state that has produced the largest number of child amputees in modern history, not to mention that it has killed the most journalists in all wars. The West does not crack down on a state that attacks Iran, Israel's biggest rival in the Middle East, under the pretext of Iran having nuclear weapons. It does not. Israel's war on Iran will not disrupt its genocidal agenda in Gaza. It will provide only a smokescreen and further cover for this Israeli state to act with even less scrutiny. Each inhumane assault from Israel is a continuation of a bloodthirsty campaign that is marked by impunity and freedom from punishment. It seems that there is no limit to what the world will let Israel get away with and what the parties to my right will defend at all costs. As Israel bombs its sixth neighbouring territory in less than two years, the US and Europe continue to politically and materially protect this rogue state. Israel's genocide against Palestinians does not signify a breakdown in international law or a lapse in global justice. Israel's continued impunity is proof that international law is working exactly as intended. The Western legal machine upholds power imbalances, it facilitates the genocide of Palestinians, and it allows liberal democracies to ignore and even assist Israel's apartheid regime. That is how Israel gets away with using starvation as a weapon of war. It uses international law to its advantage, backed by Europe and the US. War crimes are denied, dismissed or watered down in colonial, bureaucratic diplomacy. That is why the UUP's amendment refers to Israel's self-defence — we know what that means — rather than illegal occupation. The UUP talks about a military campaign rather than a genocide, which is what is happening. Ultimately, justice will not come from international courts or resolutions while international law is not enforced and arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are ignored. Justice can come only from grassroots movements piling on the pressure and punishing Israel when Western states and our legal institutions refuse to do so.
I agree with the Member that it is a broad-based movement with different strategies and trends. It is a global, peaceful movement. It is worth Members in the House remembering that it is made up of many Jewish people in Britain, America and across the world. I welcome the fact that, as the motion states, Queen's and Trinity are divesting from Israeli companies. That is progress, but there is more work for Queen's and others to do. I also support the motion's call:
"to immediately suspend all arms sales and transfers to Israel".
That demand is placed on the British Government, and I do not oppose that, but the motion fails to acknowledge the Executive's ongoing complicity in arming Israel's genocidal regime. Just under £20 million of public money was given by Invest NI to four companies that operate in the North and make component parts for F-35 jets, the same jets that dropped three 2,000 lb bombs on a so-called safe zone in Gaza last July, but the Economy Minister will not own up to the Executive's complicity. As reported in the detail, officials use narrow definitions —.
OK.
753 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: 0.18 (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 (0.72).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- 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 | 0.21 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.12 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.29 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.14 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.52 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.18 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.72 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.12 |
| Adopts it | 0.16 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.66 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.15 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.12 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:20 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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