Micheál Martin says Irish travel ban for Israeli settlers is being worked on
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Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said an Irish travel ban for Israeli settlers is being worked on and said the country would continue to persuade Hungary to join with the rest of the EU in implementing more significant sanctions against Israel.
Travel bans against Israeli settlers are set to be imposed by individual countries after ministers failed to agree to EU-wide sanctions.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs Minister could not say when the travel ban would come into place but that individual countries were working on it.
All European Union countries, except for Hungary, jointly called for an eventual ceasefire in Gaza and urged Israel not to launch its planned assault on Rafah.
Mr Martin said there was “deep frustration” at Hungary’s position following the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
He said 26 Member States wanted to move forward with sanctions that would enable them not just to do a travel ban but an asset freeze. He said individual member states do not have the national competence to do an asset freeze, and that was the clear legal advice that was given to countries but different countries do have competence for travel bans.
The Tánaiste said Ireland is now going to work with other countries on implementing travel bans against Israeli settlers.
He added that in the meantime, Ireland will continue to try to persuade Hungary to join with the rest of the EU in implementing more significant sanctions against Israel.
Mr Martin said that it was “unusual” that on the issue of travel bans for settlers, the United States is “more advanced” than the EU.
The US implemented visa bans on Israeli settlers in the West Bank in December 2023.
The Tánaiste also described the scenes in Gaza as “devastating and catastrophic”.
Mr Martin's comments come after a UN official overseeing aid to Gaza told the Tánaiste and his EU counterparts that humanitarian aid could not be distributed without the help of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
A number of countries have suspended funding to the agency after some of its staff were allegedly linked to Hamas.
Sigrid Kaag, the UN aid and reconstruction co-ordinator for Gaza, told the foreign leaders on Monday about conditions for people living in the Gaza Strip.
Mr Martin said she gave a “very objective but heart-rendering presentation” of life for Palestinians.
“The situation is devastating and catastrophic, she was very clear that any military operation into Rafah would have the most devastating of consequences for the people there,” Mr Martin said.
He added: “1.5 million people crowded into a small corner of a highly densely populated area who have been moved from north to the centre, from to the centre to the south.
“She (Ms Kaag) also made it very, very clear to the 27 ministers that humanitarian aid could not be distributed without UNRWA and that it was wishful thinking to suggest that it could and she was emphatic about that reality.”
He added: “We would appreciate it if we could get a consensus on the Security Council towards an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all hostages and for Hamas to lay down its arms.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday that he received a response from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen following his letter expressing concern about Gaza.
He said it was not a “detailed response”.
In a joint letter sent earlier this month, Mr Varadkar and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel trade agreement.
Mr Martin said the letter was discussed at the EU foreign affairs meeting, and that the EU commission is expected to respond to it soon.
Mr Martin said that others are “quite interested in this as well and are quite supportive”.