Iranian missile tests overshadowed Micheál Martin's three-day trip to the Middle East, writes Mary Fitzgerald
There can be few more daunting destinations for your first overseas visit as Minister for Foreign Affairs than the Middle East. Particularly when you wake up on the first morning of your trip to discover that temperatures in the region have inched that bit higher due to Iran's announcement that it has test-fired a missile capable of reaching Israel.
So it was for Micheál Martin last week. Not surprisingly, Tehran's muscle flexing was to prove a recurring theme during the Minister's three-day visit, which took in Cairo, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the West Bank. The ratcheting of tensions between Iran and Israel was, Martin observed on the final day of the trip, the "overriding issue of fundamental concern" to all parties in the region.
It began during a breakfast meeting in the elegant high-ceilinged rooms of the Egyptian foreign ministry. The recent sabre rattling between Tehran and Tel Aviv has caused no little anxiety in Cairo and other Arab capitals, already uneasy about Iran's attempts to establish hegemony across the region. One of the first questions put to Martin and his Egyptian counterpart following their discussions was from a local reporter keen to hear what both ministers thought about the heightened tensions.
Martin stressed the importance of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis over Irans nuclear ambitions, adding that all efforts should be made to avoid a conflict he said would have a devastating impact on the region.
He would repeat the same during talks with secretary-general of the Arab League Amr Moussa - who told The Irish Times the last thing the Middle East needed was another war - and Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni. Such were the sensitivities in Tel Aviv that an aide to Livni told this reporter she would not take any questions on Iran.
The Israeli foreign ministry did however issue a statement following her meeting with the Irish delegation, in which Livni called for the "increasing and intensifying" of sanctions and noted the Israeli governments position that Iran poses a danger that is "not only nuclear, but . . . a comprehensive threat" due to its support for Hizbullah, Hamas and other such groups in the region.
While the question of what to do with Iran ended up one of the dominant themes of Martins visit, other broader regional developments were high on the agenda, particularly attempts to restore momentum to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and foster national reconciliation talks between rivals Fatah and Hamas.
In Cairo, Martin hailed Egypts mediation efforts to stabilize an Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. In a meeting with Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, architect of the three-week-old agreement, Martin discussed efforts to strengthen a truce still considered fragile.
Under the deal, Gaza-based militants were to cease rocket attacks on southern Israel, and Israel was to open crossings and allow more supplies to enter Gaza, where 1.4 million Palestinians have languished under an Israeli economic blockade imposed after Hamas took control last year. Militants have violated the truce a number of times since it was agreed and Israel has periodically closed the Gaza crossing points in response.
Also in Cairo last week were several senior Hamas leaders who met Egyptian officials to discuss the state of the truce - referred to by Hamas as a tahdiyeh, an Arabic word which translates as "calm".
A member of the Hamas delegation, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said after the meetings that his group would hold to the deal with Israel and pledged to stop further violations.
From the Egyptian capital, Martin flew on to Tel Aviv and from there to Jerusalem and Ramallah. Travelling in an armoured bullet-proof motorcade, the Ministers drive through the rolling hills and narrow valleys of the West Bank took him past some of the most powerful symbols of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - red-roofed Jewish settlements, forbidding checkpoints, and the towering concrete walls that make up sections of Israel's controversial separation barrier.
The minister's visit coincided with the fourth anniversary of an International Court of Justice ruling which declared the barrier illegal where it nudges into the West Bank.
In a report compiled to mark the anniversary, the United Nations said last week that the barrier, which will stretch to more than 600km (372 miles) when completed, will have a devastating impact on Palestinians if it is built along its proposed route.
Almost 60 per cent of the barrier, which consists of concrete walls in some parts, a fence in others, has now been constructed, the report noted.
"The majority of the route, approximately 87 per cent, runs inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem, rather than along the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line)," it said.
"This has a major impact on Palestinian villages, towns and cities, isolating communities and separating tens of thousands of people from services, lands and livelihoods."
During a visit to Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, Martin viewed sections of the barrier and heard from UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) officials how it was also hampering humanitarian work.
During his meeting with Livni, the Minister voiced concerns about what he described as the "choking impact" the wall was having on Palestinian economic and social development, while acknowledging the Israeli government's security concerns.
Martin also raised the issue of new Jewish settlements being built in the occupied West Bank, something he had discussed in a meeting with Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah.
Last week Israel announced that 920 new housing units would be built in the Har Homa district in East Jerusalem.
The announcement prompted an angry response from Palestinian leaders who threatened to call off talks with the Israeli government in protest, accusing it of undermining the process kick-started at Annapolis last year.
Martin echoed these sentiments, telling Livni the settlements issue was "sapping away at confidence" in the peace process.
Nevertheless, Martin praised what he described as his Israeli counterpart's "very clear sense of commitment to the overall process", adding that it appeared very strongly that her goal is a comprehensive peace settlement.
Israel's ambassador to Ireland, Zion Evrony, also attended the meeting, bringing up the issue of Ictu's recent call for a boycott and disinvestment campaign against Israel. The delegation reiterated the Irish Government's position that it is opposed to such a boycott during discussions one member described as "warm and constructive".
There was no negative coverage of Martin's Israeli sojourn in the local media, unlike last year when the Jerusalem Post reported that the relationship between Israel and Ireland "can best be described as cool" during a visit by then foreign affairs minister Dermot Ahern.
The paper noted that "Israel's relations with Ireland are widely considered in Jerusalem as among the worst Israel has with any European country."
Martin's itinerary was carefully planned to allow each side - with the obvious exception of Hamas - a balanced hearing.
In Ramallah, the Minister stopped off at the presidential compound known as the "Muqata" to lay a wreath at the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, now housed in a gleaming stone mausoleum inaugurated last November on the third anniversary of his death.
Martin followed this with a wreath laying ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.