Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government says that we support the Palestinian state - and we do - and that we intend to recognise the state of Palestine as part of a two-state solution. An agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to bring that about has not yet happened.

We are working on the diary at the moment, and if I have the opportunity to meet President Abbas myself, I will do so. He will certainly meet the Tánaiste. I will use that opportunity to reaffirm our support for a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution, and I will also use the opportunity to raise other concerns about democracy and human rights in the Palestinian territories, in particular, for example, the fact that homosexuality has yet to be decriminalised in Gaza. It is important that when we meet representatives of the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian groups, we support their demand for self determination but that we are not afraid to raise serious issues concerning the violation of human rights in the territories that are controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

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