Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
245. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her views on whether the resolution 2803 is delivering the adequate humanitarian response required in Gaza in conjunction with the 10 October 2025 ceasefire agreement; and if resolution 2803 will provide a path for Palestinian statehood and self-determination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74854/25]
View answerOn 17 November, the UN Security Council voted to adopt resolution 2803 (2025) endorsing the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. The resolution was adopted with 13 votes in favour, with two permanent members of the council, Russia and China, abstaining.
Ireland considers adoption of the resolution by the Security Council as a further step towards the implementation of the Plan. The text provides some additional clarity on how the next stages of the Plan will be taken forward, including the creation of a temporary International Stabilisation Force. It also calls on all parties to implement the Plan in its entirety, including maintenance of the ceasefire.
I commend the efforts of the US and other members of the international community in securing this much-needed ceasefire agreement and Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza Conflict. We are now at a point where we must assess progress on key phase one issues. In advance of the January Foreign Affairs Council meeting, I wrote to EU HRVP Kaja Kallas along with five of my EU counterparts to formally convey our growing concern about the lack of progress on addressing the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The people of Gaza continue to endure the most appalling conditions. The improvements in humanitarian access have not materialised to the extent set out in the Comprehensive Plan. At this moment, the people of Gaza do not have enough to eat, they do not have adequate shelter from the winter weather, they do not have sufficient access to medicines and they do not have access to sanitation. The volume of aid entering Gaza is nowhere near sufficient and Israel’s highly-restrictive controls continue to obstruct an effective humanitarian response.
Ireland welcomes the inclusion of a reference to Palestinian self-determination and statehood in the final text of the resolution. We also note the statement by the State of Palestine welcoming a joint statement issued by the United States, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and Türkiye during the drafting of the resolution.
Ireland stands ready to play our part in working towards a sustainable peace between Israel and Palestine through the realisation of the two-State solution. We reaffirm that implementation of the resolution must be carried out in full compliance with international law, and that humanitarian aid and reconstruction must be directed throughout all parts of the Gaza Strip.
Ireland is a core member of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and I am pleased that we will host the next meeting of the Alliance in Dublin on 28 January, during which we will share Ireland’s experience of a successful peace process in Northern Ireland.
It is Ireland's long-standing view that Palestinians should be able to vindicate the full rights of a state, including self-determination, self-governance, territorial integrity and security, and our recognition of the State of Palestine is a concrete expression of this view.
