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

On the St. Patrick's Day events in the White House, I have not yet received an invitation. If I am invited, I will accept and, as always, use it as an opportunity to speak to the US President and Administration about matters of interest and concern to the Irish people. Those conversations are not always pleasant ones. While we agree on the majority of things, we do not agree on everything. I point out that the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, has met President Biden in the past few months, and certainly more recently than I have met him. I do not think the President of Palestine would refuse an invitation to go to the White House to discuss matters happening in Gaza and elsewhere. I do not see why we would do so, on that basis.

With regard to the International Court of Justice, we support and accept the rulings it has made in recent weeks. We believe Israel must now implement those and protect civilian life. It is important to clarify that the ICJ has not found that Israel has committed genocide, nor has it called for ceasefire - we have. It has found that South Africa has a valid and plausible case to make. South Africa informs us it is preparing the case. It could be between three and four months before that case is ready to submit. At that point, it will be possible for us to make an intervention, either under section 62 or section 63. These are different types of intervention. It is not a matter of joining the case. That is a misnomer. It is not like signing a petition or liking a tweet. It is much more complicated than that. We would have to look at it carefully and in detail. We also need to bear in mind that there is no guarantee that the ICJ will find Israel guilty of genocide in two or three years' time. We need to make sure we are not on the wrong side of the law and the facts on this.

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