Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

To be fair, it is more than just words from Ireland. We have contributed significant funding to Palestine, to the Palestinian Authority and to UNRWA, which has been much maligned but is the only UN agency that has the capacity not only to facilitate the surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza but also to facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza. Most people will admit that privately if they are not prepared to admit it publicly. I am talking about international opinion.

Regarding the UN, Ireland has been very active with other countries. We recognised the State of Palestine with Norway and Spain back in May last year. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on that and the Attorney General on behalf of the Government made an oral submission to the court in respect of this. We then co-sponsored a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 September which seeks to implement the court's advisory opinion.

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