Tánaiste: US must review arms sales to Israel amid 'reckless escalation' of war in Middle East
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The US should review its sale of arms to Israel given the "reckless escalation" of the war in the Middle East, the Tánaiste has said.
The US last month approved $20 billion in arms sales to Israel, including scores of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles. Israel this week opened up a second front in its war by bombing Lebanon.
At the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, US president Joe Biden warned against an all-out war in the region, but the US has indicated it will continue to arm its ally.
In an interview with the in New York, Micheál Martin said while he believes Mr Biden wants a ceasefire, the decision to arm Israel should be reviewed.
"The US has to review that, I think, given the reckless escalation of this."
Mr Martin said he was "very struck" by the intensity of feeling of politicians from Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia who worry that violence in the region could destablise the whole Middle East.
"They're beginning to see the entire sort of edifice that was created over the last 30 years — in other words, Egypt made peace with Israel, Jordan did — all of that is at risk now because of Israel's war. It's incomprehensible, in my view. I don't understand the strategy.
"Jordan and Egypt feel it may be Israel has an ultimate agenda of forcing all of the Palestinians out of the West Bank into Jordan and into Egypt. That's absolutely not going to happen.
"So it's a powder keg at the moment, and I think those countries are urging moderation, and some of them wouldn't have great, historically, relationships with Iran — but they're urging Iran not to escalate, and there's been a lot of diplomacy on that front.
"So it's very, very fraught, and I think the US is very conscious of that."
Mr Martin said his view is that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "taking a bet" on the outcome of the election in the US.
"I think in the aftermath of the presidential election, it's going to be crucial."
Mr Martin said he believes the Israeli government "has a lot of leverage in the US" and that the "reality" of politics in the region is that the US is concerned about Iran and sees Israel as a "counterbalance".
"It's interesting in Ireland that Iran has never got the same focus of attention in terms of its policies and how it has created, if you like, and supported Hamas, which is a very almost jihadist view of life. We saw that on October 7. That was quite jihadist in its execution.
"Hezbollah has been essentially funded and supported with weapons by Iran, the Houthis also, and that's the bigger power balance in the region."
The Tánaiste said the sense in the UN is that the US wants the war to end, but that Israel has used the wider implications in the region to "keep America on board".
"I have no doubt America wants a ceasefire," Mr Martin said. "That's the point I am making, having met with officials; they want a ceasefire. America does not want this war to go on and on."