Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called for the international community and media to be allowed into Gaza to see the “full horrors” of what has transpired there.
Speaking on his way into Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Martin said the United Nations and others should be let into the enclave, which has been under Israeli bombardment for 21 months.
“People need to see the full horrors of what has transpired in Gaza,” he said, adding that more people “witnessing” such scenes could help to stop further wars in the future.
Mr Martin was asked about Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday saying he had recommended US president Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
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The Taoiseach said Mr Netanyahu should “stop the war in Gaza”.
“Most people around the world are shocked at the latest phase of the war in Gaza,” he said, adding that it was “really beyond human comprehension” at this stage. “That’s where prime minister Netanyahu’s focus should be.”
Mr Martin said he believed Mr Trump was being genuine when he previously stated that war was irrational and stupid.
He was speaking after the campaign group Mothers Against Genocide and allies held an all-night camp outside Leinster House. The group also hand in thousands of postcards in support of the inclusion of services in any Occupied Territories Bill to the Dáil.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the EU and the US must work “intensively” to get a deal on tariffs in place before the latest deadline for increased rates.
The Trump administration this week said it has pushed back the deadline for a baseline 10 per cent tariff rate coming into place to August 1st. Countries had previously been working to secure an agreement by this Wednesday.
Mr Harris, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the pause is a “clear indication” that Mr Trump understands the need to have a trade deal in place.
“We are far too interdependent not to have one. Every single day, more than €4 billion worth of goods and services are traded across the Atlantic Ocean,” he said on Tuesday.
“The more quickly we can bring certainty, the better that is for jobs, and the better that is for investment, the better that is for economic sentiment.”
The Fine Gael leader said he was “concerned in relation to the issue of pharma”, where there was a lot of work still to be done before an agreement is reached.
“We obviously have a very big pharma sector in this country,” he said. “We’ve been a very good home to the pharma industry. They need access to the European Union, a market of more than 460 million people.”
Mr Harris said he has made the point in his conversations with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick “that there is a way forward that could be good for the EU and good for the US and pharma”.
He said that while it is “disappointing” no trade agreement has been reached, the decision by Mr Trump to push back the deadline shows he is up for making a deal. He said he wants to see zero-for-zero tariffs in as many areas as possible.
On tariffs, Mr Martin said he is “hopeful” the EU and the US will find common ground before the deadline passes.
“First of all, we don’t want tariffs, but the United States clearly have issues,” he said, adding that to pause to the implementation of the levies on EU trade was welcome.
“What it suggests really is that there was substantial negotiations on the way, have happened between the US and the EU. They’re not there yet, and we’re not there yet, but I think there’s a prospect that we could be there by August 1st,” he said. – Additional reporting: PA
