Ireland remains committed to the implementation of the two-State solution as a pathway to lasting peace and security for Israel, Palestine and the wider region.
My Department works actively, including through our Missions in Ramallah and Tel Aviv, to support peacebuilding in the Middle East. This includes support for a range of civil society organisations based in Palestine, Israel and elsewhere who are dedicated to these issues. These organisations work to promote peace, dialogue and cross community relations and include groups promoting the role of women and youth peacebuilders - who we believe are central to any successful peace process.
Ireland also supports dialogue platforms that bring together Israeli and Palestinian civil society, experts and academics in an effort to foster dialogue and identify potential routes to strengthen peacebuilding and reconciliation. Ireland regularly hosts peacebuilders who are interested in our experience of peace building on the island of Ireland. In addition to these efforts, Ireland supports organisations working in the area of political accountability, political representation and where relevant has supported and participated in exercises to support and observe electoral processes.
The situation in the Middle East, particularly the Israel-Palestine conflict, will remain a key priority during Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.
We will reaffirm the EU’s commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East 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 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.
The promotion of peace, reconciliation, accountability and implementation of human rights standards is central to our foreign policy in the Middle East, and we continue to work closely with the EU institutions, other member States, as well as the United Nations and other likeminded countries to advance these shared priorities.
