The Republic of Ireland has a unique voice among Western states because of its colonial history and, later, the success of the peace process in the wake of the Northern Irish conflict (1969–1998). Both experiences have allowed successive Irish governments to pose as consistent advocates of peace and human rights. As far as the question of Palestine is concerned, the Republic of Ireland has unswervingly emphasized the primacy of multilateralism and international law while often expressing sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people in international institutions. As early as 1937, Éamon de Valera , then president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion born after the partition of the island of Ireland in 1921, addressed the Sixth Committee of the League of Nations to oppose the plan of the Royal Commission for Palestine (the Peel Commission ) to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. De Valera also opposed the mass relocation of European Jews to Palestine.
The Republic of Ireland and the Palestine Question at the United Nations
When it joined the United Nations in 1955, the Republic of Ireland based its policy on three main tenets: a strict adherence to the UN Charter , an independent position, and non-membership in the blocs within the institution. Joining the UN during the Cold War , it refused to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after it was established in 1949. On 14 August 1958, at a special session of the UN General Assembly, the Irish minister for Foreign Affairs, Frank Aiken , defended the right of return and compensation for Palestinian refugees and the Republic of Ireland started contributing to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the late 1950s while providing soldiers to the United Nations Observer Group in Lebanon .
On 27 June 1967, on the aftermath of the Arab-Israeli war earlier in the month, Aiken addressed the UN General Assembly and called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the borders preceding the war and for any peace treaty to be “firmly guaranteed” by the UN as well as by a majority of the permanent members of the UN Security Council
. He claimed that while Israel had the right to defend itself, it had no right to annex the territory of neighboring states or to flout the UN Charter by remaining in the newly occupied territories. As for the
The Republic of Ireland was careful to ensure that its humanitarian commitment to the Palestinian refugees could in no way be interpreted as a partisan political commitment. It rejected a proposal by Turkey that the Republic of Ireland become the only non-Muslim country to sign a motion for a resolution on refugees (1968), and it voted against resolution 2535 (1969), which linked the refugee issue to the “inalienable rights of the Palestinians.” Ireland regarded the resolution as politicizing the problem by calling into question the very existence of Israel.
Policy Shift after Joining the European Economic Community
The Republic of Ireland’s accession to the European Economic Community
(EEC) in 1973 profoundly transformed its foreign policy. While maintaining its neutrality, integration into the European community allowed the Republic of Ireland to bolster its diplomatic influence. Garret FitzGerald
, the minister for Foreign Affairs between 1973 and 1977, played a role in the Euro-Arab Dialogue
, initiated after the 1973 oil shock to foster collaboration between Europe and the Arab world. This dialogue aimed to promote political cooperation, economic partnership, cultural exchange, and development initiatives. In 1974, the Republic of Ireland became one of the first Western European countries to recognize the
A significant turning point occurred with the
The signing of the Oslo Agreement
in 1993 marked the establishment of the
In the aftermath of the Oslo Agreement, the first Israeli ambassador to Ireland presented his credentials to President Mary Robinson
in July 1994, and the Israeli embassy was opened in 1996, the same year as the Irish embassy was opened in Tel Aviv
. The Republic of Ireland was the last state in the European Union (that had replaced the EEC in 1993) to host an Israeli embassy, after granting de facto recognition to the State of Israel in 1949. Indeed, for many years, the Republic of Ireland was reluctant to grant de jure recognition to Israel with borders that were not those established by the UN. In particular, in this Catholic country sharing concerns with the Vatican
, there was a strong case for the internationalization of
War on Gaza (2008-09) and Its Aftermath
The launch of Israel’s war on
Diplomatic relationships with Israel became strained because of the participation of Irish activists in the Freedom Flotillas to Gaza,
Irish Parliamentary Activism in Favor of Palestine
In July 2013, under the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Union excluded Israeli settlements from any new trade treaty with Israel. The following year, the Republic of Ireland took a further symbolic step when the Seanad (Irish Senate) and the Dáil (the lower house of Parliament) voted in favor of a non-binding motion urging the Irish government to officially recognize the state of Palestine consistent with the two-state solution. The Irish parliament also voted in favor of a bill, Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 , to prohibit trade with and economic support for illegal settlements in territories deemed to be under occupation according to international law. The Irish government did not implement the bill, claiming that the European Union, not member States, was in charge of the bloc’s trade policy, but it increased its humanitarian aid to UNRWA following funding cuts by the United States. This position was later reviewed in 2024 when Micheál Martin claimed that the International Court of Justice ruling against the Israeli presence in East Jerusalem , the West Bank and Gaza could potentially free the Irish government to make its own decision on the issue. In May 2021, the Irish Parliament unanimously voted in favor of a motion declaring Israeli settlement expansion a form of “de facto annexation” and, in a joint letter to the European Union written with Luxembourg , it called for the European Union to take a stronger stance on human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly with respect to Israeli settlements.
Irish Civil Society and the Palestinian Cause
Due to the colonial history of Ireland, Irish public opinion has been particularly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause since the
Irish civil society has been very active in solidarity work with the Palestinian population through its nongovernmental organizations Concern
and Trócaire
, among others. It promotes the
The dynamic pro-Palestinian civil society has been influential in bending the foreign policy of the Irish State in recent years.
Israel-Gaza War, 2023-2025
Since the start of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in October 2023, the Republic of Ireland has expressed concerns regarding the treatment of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories. The Irish government, together with the Swedish government, sent a letter to the EU Commission to ensure that European Union policies align with its human rights principles and demanded that respect for international law be a condition for maintaining privileged trade agreements with Israel. The Republic of Ireland also chose to maintain financial support for the UNRWA even though the organization was accused by the Israeli government of collaboration in the 7 October attacks.
Together with Spain and Norway , the Republic of Ireland granted official recognition to the State of Palestine on 28 May 2024 and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah. In December 2024, the Republic of Ireland announced that it would join South Africa ’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Louvet, Marie-Violaine. The Irish Against the War: Postcolonialism & Political Activism in Contemporary Ireland. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2024.
Miller, Rory. Ireland and the Palestine Question: 1948–2004. Dublin : Irish Academic Press, 2005.
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