Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin is beginning a series of high-level meetings in the Middle East aimed at reinvigorating the Israeli/Palestinian peace process.
Efforts at reaching a settlement based on a two-state solution have fallen off the international agenda in recent years, particularly at an EU level.
This process started before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has accelerated since. EU diplomatic efforts and international attention has been focused almost entirely on Ukraine to the detriment of the Middle East
Ireland, along with number of small EU members, is now seeking to draw attention back to the Israel/Palestine question and create renewed international momentum towards a solution.
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Mr Martin’s visit starts in Jerusalem with a tour of Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
Over the following three days he is expected to meet Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, president Yitzhak Herzog and minister for foreign affairs Eli Cohen.
He will meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied territory before travelling to Jordan, where engagements will include a meeting with deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ayman Safadi.
The Tánaiste’s visit comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region and frequent violent incidents. There have been deadly attacks by Palestinians against Israelis as well as mob violence by Israeli settlers and violent military raids on Palestinian territories.
Last week, a Palestinian truck driver killed an Israeli soldier in a ramming attack near a checkpoint on the boundary with the occupied West Bank. He was then shot dead during an ensuing pursuit.
The incident came hours after Palestinians wounded four Israeli soldiers in a roadside bombing in the West Bank.
Mr Martin’s task will be all the more difficult given that, unlike its predecessors, Israel’s narrow far-right government is openly hostile to the idea of a two-state solution to the conflict and has supported the construction of illegal settlements in Palestinian territories.
It is understood the Tánaiste will be likely to raise concerns about settler activity and the increasing violence with his counterparts.
His visit will also seek to improve Ireland’s reputation as an honest broker in the conflict and to counter widely held views in Israeli political circles that Ireland is biased on the side of Palestine.
“There has been a worrying escalation in violence over recent months. Ireland has been consistent in its calls for the protection of civilians and the application of international law,” Mr Martin said. “This visit will allow the opportunity to discuss directly these issues with political leaders, as well as with Ireland’s civil society partners.
“The visit will be my first to Jordan since the opening of Ireland’s Embassy in Amman, and I am looking forward to seeing the strengthened bilateral relationship between us, including Ireland’s support for the Jordan Young Scientist programme and other innovation initiatives. Jordan also hosts a significant number of refugees from Syria, Palestine and elsewhere. I will meet refugee families and UN partners and reiterate Ireland’s continuing support.”
