The Government has described as “provocative” and “unhelpful” comments by Israel’s defence minister that displaced Gaza residents should be resettled in Ireland.
The controversy comes as new figures show the number of Palestinians seeking asylum in Ireland has increased more than eightfold.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said Palestinians must be allowed to “return safely to their home” and that any comments which run contrary to this are “a distraction”.
A spokesperson for Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “the Palestinian people have a right to their own homeland” and the comments by Israeli defence minister Israel Katz were provocative.
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Mr Katz said Ireland, Spain and Norway were “legally obligated” to take displaced Gaza residents in the wake of US president Donald Trump’s controversial plan for the enclave. Countries which “have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza are legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories,” he said.
Trump announced earlier this week that the United States plan to take over Gaza, resettle the Palestinians to other countries and transform the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Responding to this plan, Palestinian ambassador to Ireland Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said the Gaza Strip was “not a business deal” and that the Palestinian people would never give up their homeland.
New figures from the Department of Justice show 957 Palestinians applied for international protection in Ireland between January and December 2024, up from 118 applications the previous year, representing a rise of more than 700 per cent.
Men aged between 18-34 made up 44 per cent of all applications during 2024, while women from the same age-group represented 9 per cent. Some 257 applications (27 per cent) came from children aged under 18.
[ Donald Trump says Gaza will be ‘turned over to the US by Israel’Opens in new window ]
In Washington, confusion reigns over the details and even the seriousness of Trump’s plan. The president elaborated on his thinking in a social media posting issued at 6.30am on Thursday where he confirmed, once again, his stipulation that the “Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting”.
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He also stated that “no soldiers by the US would be needed” for what would be an American acquisition of Gaza. Democratic senator Chris Coons echoed beliefs within the party that Mr Trump’s vision for Gaza is nothing more than a grand smokescreen for the ongoing dismantling of federal aid schemes headed by the US Agency for International Development, the bipartisan programme in operation since 1961.
“This is a dangerous distraction. Donald Trump is doing now what he has often done in his leadership – to distract us from something else that he’s doing. And here, it is pretty obvious. He is actively shutting down US foreign aid.”
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s three-day visit to Washington concluded with meetings with Republican members of Congress in the Capitol on Thursday. He reiterated his support for president Trump’s idea on a Fox News interview which aired on Wednesday evening.
“The actual idea of allowing first Gazans who want to leave to leave, I mean, what is wrong with that?” he said.
“This is the first good idea that I’ve heard. It’s a remarkable idea and I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”
Meanwhile, Mr Harris has announced €20 million in support from Ireland for the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) for its work assisting people in Gaza, the West Bank and Palestine refugees across the Middle East.
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