Results 1-20 of 208 for israel speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (20 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...collaboration. The EU has done that and has restored funding and we want other countries to do the same. As regards my talks in Washington, yes, we talked about the US putting more pressure on Israel to allow more trucks through, and that is being done. The US also has proposals to build a temporary jetty or port to allow more aid to get through. I think we all agree that it needs...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...in Gaza. I will continue to press the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages, a massive scale-up in humanitarian assistance and a process that can lead to a peaceful and sovereign Israel and Palestine living side by side. In my recent speech in Boston, I was unambiguous that civilians in Gaza cannot be subject to collective punishment for the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (20 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and I wrote a joint letter to the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, on 14 February expressing our deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Israel and Gaza, and particularly its impact on women and children. With the risk of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe posed by Israeli military operations in Rafah, and all that...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...in detail the things we are doing in response to a previous question. That question may have been from the Deputy or from someone else. We continue to pursue this issue in the context of the EU-Israel association agreement. We will do so again at the European Council meeting later this month. The Tánaiste in particular is working on the issue of sanctions relating to violent...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I take this opportunity to reiterate the Government's call for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. This will allow the hostages to be released, the killing to stop and much-needed food and medicine to get in to the Gaza Strip, where civilians are in a very desperate and unimaginable situation. We believe that a humanitarian ceasefire for...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...Palestine as a state. The Government wants to fulfil that in a way that is meaningful. We could do it unilaterally tomorrow but it would be effectively a press release that would be dismissed by Israel and nobody would follow it. What makes more sense is to do it on a multilateral basis and we are in discussions with approximately half a dozen other countries about doing it as a group...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...in favour of recognising it. The Government wants to do that formally as a Government, but it also wants to do it in a way that is meaningful. Doing it unilaterally would not be meaningful; it would be dismissed outright by Israel and its allies, and it would be of little or no benefit to the Palestinian people. It would be of more benefit if a number of like-minded countries, not...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (14 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...months for the St. Patrick's Day events and I will, of course, use the opportunity, both in public and in private, to share the views of the Irish people, and my own views, on what is happening in Israel and Palestine. I hope by then there is already a ceasefire. Let us pray there is but either way, I will be sharing our views with our friends and colleagues in the US. It is important...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ..., and I wrote formally to the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, expressing once again our deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Gaza and calling for an urgent assessment of whether Israel is in breach of the human rights obligations under the EU-Israel association agreement. The letter states that the expanded Israeli military operation in Rafah poses a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...East to be in any way about us. It is not about us or the differences between the different parties here or between the Government and the Opposition. It is about the civilian population in Israel and the civilian population in the Palestinian territories. I disagree with the Deputy on two counts, even though we agree on most things. First, absolutely nothing Israel is doing at the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...for agencies, such as UNRWA, when other countries have suspended their funding. We are working with other countries on the possibility of statehood recognition. We have clearly called for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be on the table because we believe Israel may have breached the human rights clause. We will continue doing all of these things and we will also continue to call...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ..., the safety of our troops on the border with Lebanon and on the Golan Heights. As Taoiseach, I have a responsibility to think about the safety of our citizens and our troops on the borders of Israel. Arson is a serious crime that is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Garda investigations are under way and we expect there will be prosecutions. I agree that we need to see...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...think that is naive. It is a really nice idea. It might be the kind of thing that Deputy Boyd Barrett and I would sign up to, being secular people, but it is very evident to me that the people of Israel do not want a single-state solution, they want a Jewish state, and most Palestinians, many of whom voted for Hamas in the last election, want an Islamic state. That is the reality of it....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: As I said earlier, there is a ceasefire proposal on the table negotiated by the Egyptians, Qataris and Americans. It is our strong view that Israel and Hamas should both accept that ceasefire proposal. It will allow the killing to stop. It will allow refugees, or at least some of them, to return to their homes and it will allow aid, which is desperately needed by Palestinian civilians, to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...risk of a massacre occurring in Rafah if a ground assault were to occur, and that would be a gross violation of international law on top of all the other violations of international law for which Israel is responsible. We were among the first countries in the world and among the first parliaments in the world to call for a ceasefire. That is correct. There is now a ceasefire proposal...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Jan 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...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...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jan 2024)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland welcomes the decision by the International Court of Justice to order provisional measures in the South Africa versus Israel case. The court’s order is significant, that Israel must ensure that its military does not commit actions prohibited under the Genocide Convention and takes immediate and effective measures to enable basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza....

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (24 Jan 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...of countries disagreed with the call for an immediate ceasefire, and as a result it was not possible to reach consensus on substantive conclusions. It was their view that a ceasefire would prevent Israel from anti-terror actions against Hamas. We do not agree with this assessment. The Government will continue to press our position within the EU, at the UN, and in our international...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council (24 Jan 2024)

Leo Varadkar: ...Ireland, wanted a specific call for a ceasefire. That was blocked by a minority of states, which take the view that the call for a ceasefire would not be adhered to by Hamas and would restrict Israel in anti-terrorist activities. We do not agree with that assessment but that is the reason they gave. On Palestine, I reaffirm the Government's firm support for Palestinian statehood. It...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I think the Deputy may be incorrect and we can check the record. I believe I said the Deputy's party only mentioned Hamas in the context of its crimes on 7 October which it says does not justify Israel's response.