Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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40. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent visit to Palestine and Israel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41688/23]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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67. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a detailed itinerary of his recent visit to Israel. [41909/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 40, 63 and 67 together.

I visited Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and Jordan from 4-8 September 2023. In view of the continuing priority afforded by the Government to our relations with these partners and – in particular – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this visit provided an important opportunity to meet with my political counterparts and to engage with civil society partners active on the ground.

Given the deeply worrying trends and increasing violence that we are witnessing in the occupied Palestinian territory and which have been raised frequently in this House, I underlined Ireland’s concerns on several issues across all my engagements, notably the continued expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in breach of international law, terror attacks perpetrated against Israeli and Palestinian civilians, shrinking civil society space and the absence of meaningful political dialogue.

While visiting Israel, I met with President Isaac Herzog,Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer. I visited the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, Yad Vashem, and laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance, and the National Library of Israel, to view archives from the Genealogical History of the Irish Jewish Communities. I also visited Lod, a mixed Jewish-Arab city, where I was briefed by representatives of Abraham Initiatives, an NGO supported and funded by my Department, who work to promote engagement and dialogue between the two communities. I also delivered an address to the Israeli Council on Foreign Relations on Ireland's foreign policy priorities, and met with representatives of the civil society group Parents Circle.

During my visit to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, I met with President Mahmoud Abbas and with the Secretary General of Fatah’s Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub. I visited Beitunia Secondary Vocational School for Girls in Ramallah, which is supported by my Department as part of our overall funding to the Palestinian education system, met with UN and NGO officials working on human rights and accountability issues and was briefed by members of the West Bank Protection Consortium, as well as meeting with members of a Palestinian Bedouin community at risk of displacement from their home due to intimidation and violence by settlers.

In East Jerusalem, I met with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch. This was an important opportunity to discuss the situation regarding the Status Quo of the religious sites and the challenges being faced by Christian communities.

In Jordan, I met with King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Ayman Safadi. I also visited Khalda Refugee Registration Centre to meet with a number of United Nations agencies which Ireland supports, including UNHCR, the World Food Programme and UNICEF, as well as with Syrian refugees in the centre. I went to Hussein Technical University and met with the university faculty and participants in the ‘Embassy for Youth Entrepreneurship Programme’, and the winners of the Jordan Young Scientist 2023.