The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said today the Government would be pressing for renewed intervention by the International Quartet in the Middle East peace process.
Speaking after a lengthy meeting in Dublin with a Palestinian delegation led by Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, Mr Ahern also called for an early meeting between Mr Qurei and the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon.
Mr Ahern said Ireland, in its current role of EU President, was anxious to acheive a breakthrough in the stalled peace negotiations in the Middle East. "Ireland and the European Union are determined to do everything we can to help bring the current conflict to an end. It is high time the cycle of violence was broken."
He said he hoped to revive the involvement of the Quartet in the peace process. The Quartet, which is composed of the European Union, the United States, Russia, and the United Nations, drafted the stalled "road-map" for a negotiated settlement in the region.
Mr Ahern said he had already raised the issue twice with US President George W Bush and would do so in talks later this year. "[The EU] believes the road-map is the only process to work with and supports strong engagement by everybody, including the US."
Mr Qurei said he had "a little hope" that the Quartet's involvement would help the Palestinian people to achieve a "credible, serious" deal with Israel.
Mr Ahern also reiterated the Government's view that the wall being built by the Israelis in Palestinian territories in the West Bank was illegal and in contravention of international law. He said it would not help in bringing about a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Mr Qurei claimed the barrier was designed to effectively "annex" Jerusalem, cutting off 160,000 Palestinians from the city, which they relied on for survival. If the wall is built, he said, "the choice of the [Palestinian] state will be killed and the choice of peace will be killed."
He added: "If they want to build it in Israeli territory, that is OK. But not one single inch in our territory."
Israel says it is building the wall to stop suicide bombers. The barrier is planned to extend for 728 kilometres. The first section of 150 km (93 miles) was completed in July and work continues on the second and third sections.
Israel's Supreme Court opened hearings today into appeals by two human rights groups that the barrier is illegal under international law because it is built on occupied land and cuts Palestinians off from each other.
A senior Palestinian official, Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo, said today President Yasser Arafat's government is considering declaring a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem if Israel persists in its plans to build the barrier.
