Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar draws parallels between the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza and the Irish historically during a St. Patrick’s Day reception with US President Biden at the White House on Sunday. ‘We see our history in their eyes,’ he said. ‘A story of displacement, of dispossession, a national identity questioned and denied, forced emigration, discrimination, and now hunger.’
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar apparently took the opportunity during a meeting at the White House on Friday to urge President Joe Biden to pursue an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza. “We need to talk about how we can make that happen and move towards a two-state solution, which I think is the only way we’ll have lasting peace and security,” said Varadkar.
In response, Biden said, “I agree,” and further signalled his support when Varadkar suggested that a “two-state solution” was the most viable path to ensure lasting peace and security.
“When I travel the world, leaders often ask me why the Irish have such empathy for the Palestinian people,” added Varadkar. “And the answer is simple: We see our history in their eyes, a story of displacement, of dispossession and national identity questioned and denied, forced emigration, discrimination and now hunger.”
Varadkar met the US president as part of the Taoiseach’s traditional St Patrick’s Day trip to the US capital.
“President Biden, one of your country’s most sacred promises is to defend the principles of democracy and freedom against tyranny and oppression,” remarked Varadkar, praising the US president and his administration for their response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Moreover,” he added, “Israel must reverse its precipitous decision to authorise a land incursion into Rafah,” where over 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the Israeli military offensive that has laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip since October. The offensive has displaced 85 per cent of Gaza’s population amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, fuel supplies and medicine. The UN estimates that 60 per cent of the civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by Israel.
The occupation state has waged its deadly offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion led by the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, on 7 October in which nearly 1,200 people were killed, many of them at the hands of the Israel Defence Forces. More than 31,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed by Israel in Gaza, and nearly 73,700 others have been wounded amid mass destruction.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. South Africa, which took the case to the court, believes that Israel has not complied with the ICJ order.
The criticism isn’t surprising. As Varadkar explained, Ireland has historically favored the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel, a sympathy that has manifested over the years in its diplomacy and culture.
Ireland was the last European Union country to allow an Israeli embassy to open, in 1993, and was the first to call for a Palestinian state, in 1980. It has spearheaded criticism of Israel at the United Nations.
A pedestrian walks past a mural painted in solidarity with the Palestinians, on the International Wall on the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on March 19, 2024. (Paul Ellis/AFP)
Its mission to the United Nations said a Security Council Resolution calling for faster delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza did not go far enough, and instead called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, in line with the overwhelming view of the international community.”
