Ireland’s “hypocrisy” will be exposed if the country fails to take in Palestinians from Gaza who leave the region following its destruction by Israel, its defence minister claimed on Thursday.
Israel will prepare a plan for the departure of Palestinian people from Gaza, with the Israel Defence Forces instructed to draw it up, the minister, Israel Katz, announced.
Mr Katz name checked Ireland, Norway and Spain, claiming they were “legally obligated” to allow Palestinians to resettle in their three countries.
Tánaiste Simon Harris described the comments by Mr Katz as a ”distraction" from the objective of returning Palestinians safely to their homes in Gaza.
The back and forth follows the widely condemned announcement by President Donald Trump that he wants the United States to take over Gaza, remove Palestinians from their homeland and then turn the region into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Mr Trump on Thursday doubled down on what Mr Katz described as a “bold initiative” by posting on Truth Social: “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting”.
He added that it would mean “resettling” Palestinians and that no US soldiers would be needed.
The Palestine president’s office said its territories are “not for sale” and “not an investment project”.
A spokesperson for Mr Harris, also the foreign minister, said the “priority for Ireland and the international community must remain on ensuring the sustainability of the ceasefire, the release of the hostages, a significant surge in humanitarian aid, the rebuilding of Gaza, and a political process that delivers a two-state solution”.
“The objective must be that the people of Palestine return safely to their home and any comments to the contrary are unhelpful and a source of distraction,” the spokesperson added.
In his statement posted on social media, Mr Katz said he has “instructed the IDF to prepare a plan that will allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so, to any country willing to receive them”.
He added: “The plan will include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.
“Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have falsely accused Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow Gazans to enter their territory.
“Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse. Meanwhile, countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, have previously expressed willingness to take in residents from Gaza.”
The three European countries formally recognised a Palestinian state last year amid the continuing destruction of Gaza, where 70% of buildings are estimated to be destroyed or damaged and where much of the population has been displaced.
A recent independent study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), published in The Lancet, estimates more than 64,000 traumatic injury deaths since October 2023.
Gazan health officials estimate more than 14,000 people are missing. Close to 18,000 children have died.
A spokesperson for the office of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said: “Palestine, with its land, history and holy sites, is not for sale, and is not an investment project.
“The rights of the Palestinian people are not negotiable and are not a bargaining chip.”
He said the Palestinian people “will not give up an inch of their land, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Palestine.”
“The Palestinian people and their leadership will not allow the repetition of the catastrophes of 1948 and 1967, and will thwart any plan aimed at liquidating their just cause through investment projects.”
