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Irish Ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness was summoned to the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem today and reprimanded over Ireland’s decision to recognize the State of Palestine. The ambassadors of Spain and Norway attended the same meeting for the same reason. Before any discussions, they were shown a previously unaired video of Hamas taking female army conscripts captive on 7 October last year. It is understood the Irish Government was disappointed at this, on the basis that it fell below the established procedures and practices regarding diplomatic engagement. What is believed to have been a “forthright exchange of views”...

Ireland, Spain and a number of other EU member states are considering 21 May as the date on which they will jointly recognize the State of Palestine, RTÉ News understands. Two sources have said that 21 May is being looked at. A third source said contacts between Dublin and Madrid, as well as between Slovenia and Malta, have been intensifying with a view to the countries jointly recognizing Palestinian statehood. […] Currently, eight EU member states recognize the State of Palestine, the most recent being Sweden in 2014. Ireland has been in ongoing discussions with “like-minded” states for a number...

Ireland is close to formally recognizing a Palestinian state and would like to do so in concert with Spain and other like-minded countries, its new prime minister Simon Harris said on Friday after meeting his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, reported the Reuters news agency. “Let me this evening say our assessment is that that point is coming much closer and we would like to move together in doing so,” Harris said after meeting Sanchez, the first premier to visit Dublin since Harris became prime minister this week. “When we move forward, we would like to do so with as many...

Ireland has told the UN’s top court that states are obliged to co-operate to bring an end to “Israel’s serious breach” of its duty to respect the rights of Palestinian people. Irish Attorney General Rossa Fanning said states are obliged not to render aid or assistance in maintaining this situation. He said it was Ireland’s view that all states are required to review trading relationships with settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, requiring them to take steps to prevent trade which maintains settlement activity or implicitly legitimises Israel’s annexation of that territory. The proceedings follow a December 2022 resolution of...

The Irish Government will today make a submission at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a case concerning Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. The proceedings follow a December 2022 resolution of the UN General Assembly, meaning they predate the 7 October massacre in Israel and the ensuing hostilities in Gaza. The assembly has asked the UN’s top court to examine the legal consequences of the “ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination” due to its prolonged occupation and settlement of Palestinian territories. The case is entirely separate from the one brought before the...

Statement of Ireland in the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion Public Hearings on Israeli Practices and Policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Delivered by Mr. Rossa Fanning, S.C., Attorney General of Ireland 22 February 2024 1. Mr. President, Madam Vice-President, Members of the Court, I have the honour to appear before you this morning on behalf of Ireland. 2. These proceedings engage fundamental legal obligations, owed to the international community as a whole. As a member of that community, Ireland is committed to the protection and promotion of a global order based on respect for international law. 3. The...