Tánaiste says comments by Netanyahu 'unacceptable' after he rejected idea of a future Palestinian state
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Tánaiste Micheál Martin has described comments made by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “unacceptable” after he rejected the idea of a future Palestinian state.
At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Mr Martin told leaders “there is no excuse” for delays in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.
In a post on X on Saturday following talks with US president Joe Biden, Mr Netanyahu wrote: "I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan - and this is contrary to a Palestinian state."
Reacting to the Israeli prime minister’s comments, Mr Martin said: "I would say to prime minister Netanyahu, he needs to listen to the vast majority of the world who want peace and who wants a two-state solution on the basis that a two-state solution is the ultimate security guarantee for Israel and for Israeli citizens, and for Palestinians in terms of a future prospect of living in harmonious coexistence.
"There is no other alternative on the table to a two-state solution that is sustainable, and that will make for a sustainable peace into the future," the Tánaiste added.
EU foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss the conflict in the Middle East including a number of engagements with foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League and the Israeli foreign minister. The Fianna Fáil leader has also called for the EU to finalise sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been targeting Palestinian civilians and communities.
He said one or two EU member states were still holding out against sanctions and he would be urging them to drop their objections.
He said: "There is agreement in terms of sanctions against Hamas, which is correct, but equally there needs to be agreement on sanctions against West Bank violent settlers, and we're very clear on that."
Mr Martin said the reports coming from Gaza are “dire” in terms of the starvation and the humanitarian consequences of this war.
It comes after the Tánaiste said at the weekend that Ireland will be assessing the legal case by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Mr Martin said Ireland will review the case being presented and decide whether to join once the preliminary stages, which call for interim measures such as a ceasefire, have concluded.
Mr Martin said leaders in the Arab countries are working on a template for a peace initiative from their perspective. He said he has had some contact with foreign ministers from those countries last week.
"We're very clear that Europe has to contribute and be supportive of all efforts towards getting peace here and getting a ceasefire," he said.
At the weekend local health authorities reported that 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli operation, launched after Hamas’s attack on October 7 in which 1,200 Israelis were killed.