TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that the Government has not been “hostile” towards Israel while seeking to hold the country to account over the war in Gaza.
It comes after the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that the country will close its embassy in Dublin due to the Irish government’s “extreme anti-Israel policy”.
“The actions, double standards, and antisemitic rhetoric of the Irish government against Israel are rooted in efforts to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state,” Sa’ar said in a statement.
The move follows diplomatic tension between the countries over Ireland’s recognition of Palestinian statehood and its participation in the South African lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ.
Sa’ar cited Ireland’s recognition of Palestinian and its participation at the ICJ in his statement, while also claiming the State “promoted anti-Israel measures within the EU” and “fostered hostility toward Israel”.
When asked about the matter by reporters in Brussels this morning, the Tánaiste said that any action that the Government has taken in relation to the Middle East, particularly to Gaza, has not been motivated by anything other than respect for international humanitarian law and for human rights.
“We’ve consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a massive surge of humanitarian aid,” Micheál Martin said.
Recognising a state of Palestine, which we did with Norway and Spain and which other countries have done, is not a hostile act and should not be seen as a hostile act.
He said that Ireland supporting the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “should not be seen as a hostile act”.
“Ireland stands by the approach it has taken, which has been motivated, as I have said, towards full accountability for what is happening in Gaza and for respect for international humanitarian law and human rights,” Martin continued.
“That applies to Hamas, that has applied to Hezbollah, and to the Israeli government as well.
“I find it very difficult to comprehend how those acts could be described as hostile acts. They’re not hostile acts.”
Busy agenda at today’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) December 16, 2024
Significant discussion on the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East - particularly in terms of Gaza & Syria, & developments in Georgia.
Looking forward to making our contribution to all those debates today. pic.twitter.com/288ijqRfrN
On Wednesday, Martin secured Cabinet approval for Ireland to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel, which is currently before the International Court of Justice.
The case against Israel concerns breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Ireland will support South Africa’s case against Israel, initiated following the launch of Israeli military operations in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Martin, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs, said there has been “huge anger” in Ireland and in the EU “at the level of killing of innocent men, women and children in Gaza”.
“What’s happening in northern Gaza at the moment, for example, in my view, is beyond any moral compass. It defies any explanation at this stage,” he said.
Given how long this war has waged, we’re having daily reports of the killings of children and men and women, and Irish people are repulsed by that. That’s basically the essence of the Irish response.
Martin called on Israel to “open up” Gaza to the international community and to allow the media in “to bear witness to what is happening”.
“I have no doubt if that happened, that the world would be shocked in terms of the level of destruction that has occurred there, and the absolute need for a fundamental change of approach to now reconstructing and rebuilding Gaza and allowing the ordinary citizens and civilians and Palestinians living in Gaza to get on with some modicum of a life, because at the moment, it’s horrendous.”
The health ministry in Gaza said today that at least 45,028 people have been killed in the area since Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Martin was speaking on his way to a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers, which is expected to discuss the respective wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the situation in Syria following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.
The meeting is also expected to discuss the EU-Israel association agreement. Ireland, along with Spain, has called for the trade agreement to be reviewed in the context of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that Israeli settlements in Palestine breach international law.
“I believe the High Representative has some proposals on that,” Martin said.
“The Ireland position will be that in the event of the convening of the Association Council, it cannot be business as usual, and that Gaza and humanitarian human rights issues have to be on the agenda.”
He also said that Ireland believes that there must be a high-level meeting between the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and the Palestinian Authority “because the support of the Palestinian Authority is vital to enabling again stability in the West Bank, but also the reconstruction of Gaza”.
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