IRELAND HAS NO issue with raising the issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict with the US, according to Tánaiste and Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin. 

Speaking to reporters on the fringes of the Global Ireland Summit at Dublin Castle yesterday, Martin said Ireland has always engaged with the US on the Middle East. 

When asked if Ireland would use the close relationship it has with the White House to put forward the Irish position for a ceasefire, Martin said the “US is urging restraint on Israel right now”.

He acknowledged that the US has historic ties with Israel, stating that in “America at the moment, the public is consumed by this issue”.

“So we have a particular stance here and perspective here, given our own history, America has in respect of its history, but all the evidence we have today is that America is urging restraint. America has been to the fore in trying to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“Perhaps America is in a more stronger position to push those issues with Israel, because it’s so close to Israel in some respects,” the Tánaiste said. 

When asked if it is an uncomfortable discussion to have with the US side, he said:

“It’s not an uncomfortable discussion. They’re quite open in giving their perspectives.” 

Martin added that in the past he has raised the conflict with Hilary Clinton when she was US Secretary of State.

During the last visit of US President Joe Biden to Áras an Uachtaráin, the Tánaiste said he raised the matter with the current Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating they had a “very good informal discussion about it”. 

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What has held back any progress is the “absence of any sense of a political track for many years now”. Martin said there has been a mentality that it is never going to be solved. 

Martin made the comments while attending the Global Ireland Summit, which is an annual gathering of leaders from across the public service, state agencies, and Ireland’s international diplomatic network from over 98 locations around the world.

The Global Ireland project is the Government’s initiative to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint in the period to 2025.

This year’s summit focused on the voices of young people in Ireland, technology and AI, climate action and energy as well as the future of Europe.