Mary Robinson says Gaza situation is 'unconscionable' as she calls for urgent ceasefire

Former President Mary Robinson called for stockpiles of food, water, and medical supplies to be distributed in Gaza. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson has said what is happening in Gaza is "unconscionable" and there is "utter urgency" for a ceasefire, as she called for stockpiles of food, water, and medical supplies to be distributed.

The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also called for all hostages to be released and said "we need a parallel approach" to the situation.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Robinson said: "This is how I feel about it. Recently, Prime Minister Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo to apologise for the injury to Fr Gabriel Romanelli when a Catholic church was bombed in Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has not apologised for the more than 17,000 children killed in Gaza, he has not apologised for the many more children left without limbs, and left without family members.

"He has not apologised for all the children of Gaza who have been traumatised by this totally disproportionate war, and are now hungry to the point of starvation."

According to Ms Robinson, the Nazis in the Second World War "dehumanised the Jews so they could exterminate them in gas chambers. And that's why we have to have the humanitarian and the political side by side."

More sanctions

Ms Robinson said there should be "more sanctions on the leaders who are responsible", and she also said "there should be no arms supplied to continue this war, which has been involved in so many war crimes".

The former president, along with two other members of the Elders, will be among those attending and speaking at a conference on the matter in New York this week.

She believes this conference could be a "turning point." She said the Elders would use their "maximum morals, persuasion, and advocacy to really urge the foreign ministers to take the necessary steps".

She said she hoped there would be recognition, and notably by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, of the state of Palestine.

"The United Kingdom and France, France in particular, are on the verge of recognising, and that is what we must urge them to do when we meet in New York."

She added: "What France and the United Kingdom have been saying is: 'We don't want to do it as a symbol, we want to do it at the right moment.'

Well now is the right moment, because otherwise it is all going to be too late and we are going to have the starving, genocidal killing on our doorstep, on our watch.

Speaking about solutions, Ms Robinson said the Elders were in favour of an approach which had "both Israeli and Palestinian support, not at the political level, but at the academic and civil society level".

"It's called a land for all. It's a two-state collaborative, two-state solution for the states of Palestine and Israel together. One state with two states within it. And that's a possibility. There are other possibilities, but there must be a political way forward. That's what's been absent.

“And then we deal urgently and as urgently as possible with the humanitarian situation. And that is utterly critical, and I think it's vital that the talks result in a ceasefire in order for humanitarian access, which is piled up outside and just inside Gaza, to be distributed to starving people.”