Harris: World must 'take action' on Middle East situation

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said the UN Secretary General's "grim analysis" about the situation in the Middle East should make all the world "sit up and take stock" and "take action."

He said it was extraordinarily concerning to hear António Guterres say that neither Israel nor Hamas seem to be indicating that they are serious about a ceasefire.

He added that so far all of the efforts of the world, including the EU, have been ineffective.

"Therefore I think as people leave the UN General Assembly in the coming days there is an onus on us to say what more can we do? Because history will look back at this time as a time that the world failed the children of Palestine. There is no doubt about that."

Mr Harris is to hold a bilateral meeting with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in New York, and has also discussed the situation in the Middle East with King Abdullah of Jordan.

It will be the first meeting between the Taoiseach and Mr Abbas since Ireland recognised the state of Palestine in May.

They will discuss efforts for a ceasefire in the Middle East, efforts to release Israeli hostages, and the urgent need for aid to flow into Gaza.

Mr Harris said: "Ireland recognised the state of Palestine to help keep alive the hope of a two-state solution with Palestine and Israel living peacefully side-by-side.

"Today I will be asking President Abbas how we can support him and the Palestinian Authority in making that hope a reality.

"Ireland knows how important it is for a country to take its place on the global stage."

Mr Harris said what is happening in the Middle East cannot be normalised, and warned that Israel has opened up a second front in terms of a war in the Middle East with catastrophic implications.

"We have seen innocent children killed and we can't in any way shape or form allow this to become normalised."

In Dublin today, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett criticised Mr Harris for talking at the UN of Israeli "atrocities" in Gaza, but refusing to call out the "complicity" of the US in supplying weapons to the IDF which were then used in "criminal actions".

Meanwhile, Solidarity TD Mick Barry accused the Government of operating a policy of "don't ask, don’t tell" policy regarding planes transporting munitions over Irish sovereign airspace which were destined for Israel.

He said airlines which engaged in the practice should be banned from flying over Ireland. He said the Government had given assurances in the Dáil that the practice was not happening when, in fact, he claimed, it was.

Yesterday, the Department of Transport confirmed nine civilian aircraft, reported by The Ditch website to have carried munitions of war which were destined for Israel, did enter Irish sovereign airspace.

However, the Department said it is engaging with the airlines involved and is working to confirm the accuracy of reports about cargo alleged to have been on board the flights.