LAST UPDATE | 11 Dec 2023

TÁNAISTE AND MINISTER for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has spoken of the need to progress European Union sanctions against “violent” settlers in the West Bank, ahead of today’s meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.  

The Tánaiste is in Brussels today for the meeting where the Council will focus discussions on the EU’s support for Ukraine and its response to the situation in Gaza.

He said “very specific sanctions” could be applied to settlers on the West Bank who are “undermining any possibility of a contiguous two-state solution to the Middle East”. 

When asked if Ireland could take measures nationally, such as travel bans on individuals, Martin said “we can, and we’re certainly very open to that”.

“In the context of the West Bank and sanctions, Martin said he is “very worried in terms of what is transpiring and the extreme violence of settlers in the West Bank who are terrorising Palestinians, causing the displacement of Palestinians, attacking schools and demolishing schools”. 

“We believe and we will be calling for sanctions to be applied to extreme terrorist settlers on the West Bank and we’ll be calling for that today at today’s meeting,” said Martin.

Open to travel ban sanctions

Normally, the government wants to work with Europe in terms of sanctions, said Martin, but certainly in terms of imposing a travel ban on some individuals, “we’re very open to that”, he reiterated.

“But we want to push that the EU should do it as an entity, notwithstanding the challenges… But we have to be very clear, I think from a European Union level, that we do not in any way find this behavior by the settlers acceptable, that we must take action to demonstrate both symbolically and in real terms, our opposition to what’s going on in the West Bank right now,” he said. 

Martin added: “I believe there are many people within Israeli society who do not accept what the settlers are doing, and understand how undermining their behaviour is of the ultimate objective of Palestinians and Israelis living in harmony, side by side.”

The Tánaiste’s comments come as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar jointly signed a letter alongside Spain, Belgium and Malta urging EU leaders to call for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The letter, seen by The Journal, states: “It is time for the European Union to act. Our credibility is at stake.”

It also calls for the urgent convening an international peace conference with the all parties as soon as possible, in order to implement the two-state solution, in line with the European Council agreement in October.

“Two months since hostilities broke out, the death toll, the level of destruction, and the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip are alarming,” states the letter signed by four country leaders. 

“We have reached a moment in which the European Union must go further,” it adds. 

Today in Brussels, the Tánaiste will reiterate the urgent need to intensify calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. 

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Tánaiste said the motivation behind the letter Ireland co-signed is to call “to end the carnage, to end the slaughter of innocent civilians”.

“The level of bombardment is on a scale that we haven’t witnessed before and it is resulting in death and misery on an unacceptable scale,” he told reporters.

He said it is “vital” the EU calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

“What the people of Gaza are going through is horrifying. There is no justification for the continuing bombardment and the killing of innocent men, women and children.

“The UN Secretary General’s invocation of Article 99 should be a call to action for the international community,” he said.

“The situation we are seeing on the ground demands our reaction and we should respond to what we are seeing also in the West Bank, and progress EU sanctions against violent settlers,” Martin added.

Speaking to reporters this morning, the Tánaiste said: 

The situation in Gaza is absolutely dire. We are witnessing human catastrophe on a scale that we haven’t seen for quite some time.

The bombardment of Gaza is “absolutely unacceptable”, he said, stating that to witness the loss of the lives of so many children “is absolutely horrifying”.

The Tánaiste confirmed that there are some Irish citizens remaining in Palestine, some who opted not to leave and others who were not allowed out.

Ireland is consistently pressing for their release, he said.

Last week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres used a rarely exercised power, urging members of the UN Security Council to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Article 99 allows the secretary-general to inform the Security Council of matters they believe threaten international peace and security.

Guterres’ letter to the council’s 15 members said Gaza’s humanitarian system was at risk of collapse after two months of war that has created “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma”.

Elsewhere, in relation to today’s discussion on Ukraine, the EU Foreign Ministers will consider EU options for further support, including financial and security assistance, as well as further sanctions against Russia and Ukraine’s EU membership perspective. 

With reporting by Christina Finn