Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 July 2026
50. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which she plans to use Ireland's EU Presidency to advance a ban on the sale or offer of services from occupied Palestinian territories at the relevant Council of Ministers meetings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50196/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra77. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way in which she plans to use Ireland's EU Presidency to highlight the issue of Palestinian statehood at the relevant Council of Ministers meetings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50195/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 77 together.
The situation in the Middle East, particularly the Israel-Palestine conflict, will remain a key priority during our Presidency. We will reaffirm the EU’s commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-State solution that guarantees the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to self-determination and to live in peace and safety within secure borders.
We will also seek to ensure that focus is maintained on the dire humanitarian needs in Gaza in EU discussions. Equally, we will ensure that the situation in the West Bank, where unilateral actions which threaten the viability of the two-State solution are causing further instability, remains on the EU agenda.
Ireland is supportive of an EU-wide prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements in response to egregious Israeli breaches of human rights and democratic principles. Ireland’s longstanding position is that the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended, or at a minimum that the trade elements should be suspended. A number of other Member States have supported Ireland’s call for stronger collective EU action. Ireland welcomes the commitment by the Commission to bring forward a list of options for consideration at the July Foreign Affairs Council, including measures aimed at prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements.
On the issue of Palestinian statehood, throughout the Presidency, Ireland will continue to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to international law and to achieving a just and lasting peace where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in two states, Israel and Palestine, in peace, security and dignity within agreed borders based on the 1967 borders. Our recognition of the State of Palestine on 28 May 2024 was a concrete step, taken along with trusted international partners.
Ireland is actively working with the EU and other partners in the region and beyond to create an enabling environment for the Palestinian Authority. At the inaugural meeting of the Palestinian Donor Group in Brussels last November, I called on Israel to release withheld Palestinian tax clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority and take all necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place. The next meeting of the Palestine Donor Group is scheduled to take place on 13 July in Brussels. The Government is also committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority, both politically and financially. Ireland has provided over €133 million in support to the people of Palestine since January 2023.
On 28 January, Ireland hosted the eighth meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at Croke Park in Dublin. The event focused on sharing lessons from Ireland’s own experience of peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, and how dialogue, inclusion and strong institutions can help turn conflict into lasting peace.
Ireland will continue to use all the tools at its disposal – political, legal, diplomatic and humanitarian – to support the Palestinian people to achieve self-determination through the two-State solution.
