Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians still face “significant risk” of starvation in Gaza, despite an increase in humanitarian aid since a fragile ceasefire was brokered, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said.
Speaking in Brussels ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, Ms McEntee said a “conversation needs to be had” with Israel about the country contributing financially to the reconstruction of Gaza, after large parts of the Palestinian enclave was levelled during two years of war.
Ms McEntee, who took over as Foreign Minister this week, said she was committed to passing the Occupied Territories Bill, but added the legislation to ban trade coming from illegal Israeli settlements was “extremely complex”.
The Fine Gael Minister said it was unacceptable that Israel continued to withhold taxes that were owed to the Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the West Bank.
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“It’s very clear that there will be significant financial support that is needed to rebuild Gaza, and that that financial support will need to be sustained over a long period of time. Ireland is absolutely committed to that,” Ms McEntee said.
“I think those conversations need to be had with Israel, as well as with other member states across the EU and beyond as well,” she added.
The recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza was “extremely fragile” and the international community needed to do everything it could to ensure it held, Ms McEntee said.
A stalled proposal to suspend an EU-Israel trade deal, which would require the backing of a weighted majority of member states, had to stay in play, she said. Some EU governments have pushed to shelve the contentious sanction.
“That’s very much on the table and I think that’s where it needs to remain,” Ms McEntee said.
Ms McEntee, who was speaking before her first meeting of EU foreign ministers, said the Government was committed to passing the Occupied Territories Bill.
“We’ve always been clear that that is complex and that it is not straightforward,” she told reporters.
Officials were working with the Attorney General to see whether the law could ban trade in both goods and services coming from illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
“We’ve seen a changing dynamic, we obviously now have a ceasefire as well, that needs to be our focus ... But we are still, and I am still, committed to progressing this piece of legislation,” she said.
“It’s not down to my personal opinion here, this is about what’s possible, what’s not, what’s workable here and what’s not,” Ms McEntee said.
At least 67,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, were killed during Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, in response to October 7th, 2023, attacks in southern Israel where Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
Separately, the Minister said a peace deal in the Ukraine war could not be agreed over the heads of Kyiv and Europe.
A fresh proposal from the Trump administration, reportedly negotiated with Russian officials, would involve Ukraine giving up significant amounts of its territory in the east, triggering alarm among European allies.
“Any ceasefire, any agreement must have the support in the agreement of Ukraine and it must be supported by the EU as well,” Ms McEntee said.
“The actions of Russia in recent days do not show a country that wants a lasting peace and so Europe must be absolutely firm in its solidarity and its support for Ukraine,” she said.
Ms McEntee moved to the foreign affairs role after Tánaiste Simon Harris took over as Minister for Finance, in a mini reshuffle prompted by Paschal Donohoe’s exit from politics to take a job in the World Bank.
