Taoiseach Micheál Martin has expressed his belief that Ireland’s stance on Israel’s war with Hamas is being misrepresented in other countries, reports RTE.
His comments came in response to a question regarding political backlash in the United States to the Occupied Territories Bill, which is currently being debated in the Oireachtas.
When asked whether he was worried about potential economic fallout for Ireland if the bill is passed—especially in light of objections from US politicians—he responded:
“We don’t want, in any way, to undermine Ireland. The whole purpose of the exercise is not that Ireland would suffer unduly in respect of this,” Mr Martin told RTÉ News.
The Taoiseach outlined several examples of Ireland supporting international humanitarian law. He stated that there was “no question” that such laws have been broken repeatedly in Gaza, reports RTE.
“There are efforts abroad to undermine the integrity of Ireland’s position, [and] to misrepresent Ireland’s position. I am conscious of that, but we will always work to protect our economic interests and the national interest,” Mr Martin said, reports RTE.
He restated the Government’s view that the conflict between Israel and Hamas must end, hostages should be freed, humanitarian assistance must be allowed, and political dialogue is needed to build a lasting solution in the region.
In a separate matter, Mr Martin condemned remarks made by former minister Alan Shatter during his appearance before the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs earlier in the week, reports RTE.
Mr Shatter had referred to the Occupied Territories Bill as the first ‘Boycott Jews bill’ introduced by a European government since 1945.
Mr Martin said he found Mr Shatter’s remarks “very dismayed” and took issue with the language used.
“It was false language and some very false presentation,” he said, reports RTE.
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