Palestinian protesters wave national flags during clashes with Israeli security forces on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City, near the border with Israel, on January 12, 2018. (AFP Photo/Mohammed Abed)
On September 22nd, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that Ireland may recognize Palestine as a state if talks over a two-state solution with Israel continue failing.
He made the remarks during a joint press conference with visiting Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, who was accompanying President Mahmoud Abbas.
“We have made a choice not to officially recognize the state of Palestine just yet,” the Irish Times quoted Coveney as saying.
However, he did say that Ireland has already committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. However, if the negotiations fail, the Irish government might “have to forget the second part of that.” He also speculated that other European countries would possibly take a similar position.
The Palestinian delegation also met Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and President Michael D Higgins. It is on its way to New York where Abbas will speak at the United Nations General Assembly. The essence of his address will be the need for the international community to rescue the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or abandon it altogether.
Coveney also announced the Government is considering hosting a meeting in Ireland between leaders of Arab and European countries and Palestinian representatives in a bid to restart the stalled peace process.
Ireland will also increase its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees from €4.5 million to €7 million this year to help plug the gap left by the Trump administration’s decision to pull $200 million in funding from the agency. Coveney called the US decision “a mistake.” Late August, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington would “no longer commit funding” to the refugee agency. The US was the largest contributor to the UNRWA.
Established in 1949, the UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
The potential meeting in Ireland was welcomed by Mr al-Maliki as a way for allowing “the international community to take up its own responsibility to seek action when it comes to Palestinian-Israeli peace process.”
Coveney was asked if he believes that Israel is moving towards the imposition of an apartheid-style regime in the Palestinian territories, he replied that it is not difficult to find examples of injustice in the region. “We have an occupation of the Palestinian territories,” he said. “And while that occupation is taking place we are seeing an expansion of Israeli settlements on to Palestinian lands. In our view that is illegal.”
He also mentioned the demolition of Palestinian homes by Israeli forces, including the planned destruction of the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in West Bank.
“We need sustained dialogue if we are to make a breakthrough in the Middle East peace Process. We believe that shutting down channels of communications is never a good idea.”
More than 170 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the “Great March of Return” began on March 30th, with Palestinians protesting every week along the fence in the Gaza Strip.
Smiling Irish eyes light up the world .
the jews will start bombing ireland, isis will appear along with alqueda
I doubt that they’ll actually do anything, but the fact that they think they can still negotiate a partition shows how little they understand the situation.
True, the 2-state solution is dead, and the ZioNazi entity deserves the same treatment as WW2 Nazi Germany, i.e. complete dismantlement (ideally likewise bombed into submission but that won’t happen) and rebuilt into a truly democratic state between the Jordan and the Med with EQUAL rights for ALL its citizens, incl. Palestinians.
If Ireland does that they can probably expect to be on the receiving end of American economic sanctions. I wouldn’t be surprised if American companies who have their HQ’s and call centers in Ireland to be told by Washington to leave or risk getting targeted by sanctions. Just like EU companies are told to stop trading with Iran, or else……
Don’t for a moment think the Irish government would do this out of goodwill. Simon Coveney is a full-on globalist, completely loyal to the EU, a Soros acolyte & regular Bilderberg attendee, if they do this, it’s on the orders of someone outside Ireland, remember folks, the state of Israel has mostly outlived it’s usefulness to the people who ordered it’s creation. Israel is losing it’s influence bit by bit until it’s broken up entirely-this is part of a plan, nothing happens by accident in politics.
Why not recognize the state of Palestine right away.. peace talks or not ?
Or let’s just read it the other way around : “Ireland May Not Recognize Palestine If Peace Talks Resume”
Ireland should recognise Palestine as a State ,no ifs or buts,It is under occupation by colonialism, just like Ireland was in the past with the British occupation. Do the right thing NOW.
It is long past time that Ireland, together with other like-minded European Governments …… Spain, for example, proceeds to formally recognize the State of Palestine. We’ve been Faffing about for the past 8 – 10 years waiting for ‘negotiations’ to recommence but surely, we all recognize that Israel has no intention whatsoever of re-engaging with Palestinian Representatives on the 2-State Solution while Israel HAS proceeded with its Zio-Nationalist legislation that grants 1st Class Citizenship to all Jewish Israelis and Zero to all others ……. legislation that even Goebbels, Goering, Heydrich & Himmler would have been proud of!!
This is more than any of the other spineless EU states have gone. Nevertheless, one needs to ask the question: what is the value of this statement if recognition is linked to a 2-state solution discussion when the 2-state solution is as dead as a dodo.
A better, though more difficult to defend, position would be:
we stop recognising Israel with its institutionalised apartheid and its genocidal policies, and will recognise 1 state between the Jordan and the Med that is a truly democratic state with EQUAL rights for ALL its citizens.
Collapsing or not collapsing, Ireland MUST recognize Palestina State right NOW.