Debate contribution: Gaza: Action to End Forced Starvation
Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on .
- MLA
- Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 9 September 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Gaza: Action to End Forced Starvation
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5086569
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the proposers of the motion. Words cannot capture the depth of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, so, instead, let us use facts: food is running out; those who search for it are being shot; families are dying for lack of food; hospitals are receiving the dead daily; and medical workers hear unbearable stories from the injured day after day. Those are not my words; they are the words of the UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, addressing the Security Council just last month. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called the famine a "man-made disaster". Health workers in Gaza describe skeletal patients, including children too weak to even stand. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has now confirmed famine conditions in Gaza City. Why would it lie, and what is Israel trying to achieve by wiping out an entire people? We must never forget the horror of 7 October, nor cease to demand the release of all hostages, but innocent men, women and children cannot be made to pay for the crimes of Hamas. Palestinian people are not Hamas. Let us be clear: what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank is genocide. Israel no longer even attempts to justify its bombing of hospitals, schools or homes. Its leaders are explicit. Former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared:
"We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly".
Just months ago, Ben Gvir argued that victory required the complete cessation of humanitarian aid and the total occupation of the Strip. Those are not my claims; they are Israel's own words, and yet the international community has largely looked away. Europe, in particular, has failed. Britain, France and Germany have been slow to react and act. Keir Starmer, who once prided himself on upholding international law, has failed to hold Israel accountable for the laws that are broken daily. Contrast that with the decisive sanctions imposed on Russia after Ukraine was invaded. The double standards are undeniable. Some institutions are showing leadership. Last week, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which is the largest in the world, divested its $2 billion stake from Caterpillar because its equipment is being used to demolish Palestinian homes. It also divested from four Israeli banks that finance illegal settlements. That is historic; it is the first time that the fund has exited a non-Israeli company explicitly because of violations in the occupied territories. I joined a meeting with Mr Sharhabel al-Zaeem, the Justice Minister of Palestine, last week. He described the devastation that his people face but also their strength and dignity. He said something that struck me emotionally and deeply. He said that the Irish people have a special place in the hearts of the Palestinians. He wanted me to pass on his gratitude and greetings to the people here in this place who raise their voices for the Palestinian people. It is important that we do such a thing. That solidarity matters. In July, I visited Jordan and met politicians and civic leaders there who are working at the heart of the crisis. Their message was one of frustration with Europe and the US, because they have failed to engage meaningfully on humanitarian relief and political solutions. They warned that, if Gaza is destroyed and its population displaced, the consequences will be profound across the region. Those are the realities that we must face, however uncomfortable they may be. We must also reject attempts to commodify a people's homeland. The so-called Trump Gaza riviera plan, which proposed to turn Gaza into a development project for foreign investors, was an insult to human dignity. Gaza is not for sale. A home is not for sale. Palestine is not for sale. It belongs to its people. Today, innocent men, women and children are starving. They cannot wait for tomorrow.
634 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 (0.42).
- Subject area: Another identity-related subject.
- 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 | 0.35 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.09 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.10 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.10 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.40 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.18 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.42 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.01 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.29 |
| Adopts it | 0.28 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Another identity-related subject | 0.45 |
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.40 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.05 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.04 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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