At the United Nations, Ireland delivered a speech that cut through the usual diplomatic caution. Drawing on its own history of conflict and reconciliation, Dublin condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as a systematic assault on civilians and urged the world to recognize Palestine. In a chamber where the great powers often trade platitudes, Ireland spoke with rare clarity—and forced the question of whether the international community will finally act.
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Transcript of Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin’s speech at UN
[Applause]
President, co-chairs, may I begin by thanking France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for convening us today, and I commend them for their leadership on this most vital of issues.
Those of us gathered here know that the only viable option to deliver a peaceful future for Israel and for Palestine is a two-state solution. At this most critical juncture, we must continue to put our full political weight behind it. The situation on the ground has rarely looked so bleak. A just and lasting peace seems further away than it ever has.
But in our own peace process in Northern Ireland, to a conflict of 24 years’ duration, we recognized that even in the darkest of days, we had a duty as leaders to keep the flame of hope alive and to keep talking. The immense suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza over the past two years has been an affront to the world. It has horrified people around the world — nowhere more than in Ireland, where people have been moved to sorrow and to anger.
What happened to Israel on the 7th of October was a horrific and brutal attack on an innocent civilian population, and Hamas must be held to account for its actions. It was an appalling war crime. But it cannot justify what has happened since. More than 65,000 people killed in Gaza. Horrifically, more than 20,000 of them children.
The use of food as a weapon of war, with scarcity becoming hunger, becoming famine. Hospitals attacked, homes and schools destroyed, thousands of years of culture wiped out. People shot as they desperately seek food for their families. Doctors, aid workers, journalists targeted and killed. We have reached a point where what has been credibly described as a genocide is being carried out in front of the eyes of the world.
It would be easy to just despair, but we must not. Gaza must move us to action. And there are still humanitarian workers, medics, journalists determined to do their best for the people of Gaza and for Palestine. They are doing so with the most extraordinary courage and without regard to their own safety. To honor them and the Palestinian people, it is right that we as political leaders play our part too.
And the only way to end the appalling cycle of violence is to forge a political path. And the only credible destination is a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security. That is why Ireland last year, with Spain, Norway, and Slovenia, recognized the State of Palestine.
I commend those who have taken the decision to recognize the State of Palestine this week, and I strongly urge those who have yet to do so to give it serious consideration.
We know that there are people — including in the Israeli government — who are working daily to make that outcome impossible. In addition to the destruction of Gaza, settlements are expanding every day, and illegal settlers in the West Bank are increasingly emboldened and militant. If we do not move now to protect the two-state solution, if we do not work to build a process through which it can be achieved, there may never be another opportunity. That must not be our legacy to future generations.
Ireland is ready to play its part, and I look forward to our continuing steadfast cooperation. Thank you very much indeed.
[Applause]
