Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I could give the Deputy the verbal version but in short, I met with the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah as part of my visit to the occupied Palestinian territory. During my meeting with the President, we discussed a number of issues including possible future elections in the occupied Palestinian territory, international recognition, our strong bilateral relations, the prospects for peace negotiations, and the two-state solution.

I underlined the importance for Ireland of the Palestinian National Authority holding national elections as it has been 17 years since the last national elections. I emphasised that it is a critical moment to do so in order to enhance the Palestinian National Authority’s credibility as the representative voice of the Palestinian people, notwithstanding the challenges and constraints in relation to the holding of elections in East Jerusalem. It is my strong view that there is need to give voice to Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, through the democratic process.

President Abbas and I also discussed the issue of recognition of the state of Palestine. I outlined Ireland’s consistent position on this issue and we discussed Ireland's efforts at European Union level to raise the profile of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and seek more effective collective European Union engagement in pressing for a political horizon and a path to negotiations.

During our discussions, President Abbas briefed me on talks earlier this year between Palestinian and Israeli delegations, including the Aqaba and Sharm-el-Sheik negotiations, aimed at de-escalating tensions. I expressed my support for these talks and the importance of maintaining communications lines. We also discussed prospects for intra-Palestinian reconciliation with engagement on this issue ongoing and led by Egypt.

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