Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin told world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Thursday that the international community had failed Palestinians, warning that continued violence and settlement expansion were undermining prospects for a lasting peace.
Addressing the 81st session of the General Assembly in New York, Martin said the international legal order was under “tremendous strain” and described the denial of fundamental human rights as one of the defining challenges of the era.
“We, the collective international community, have failed Palestine,” Martin said, referring to the continuing suffering of civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Martin said the first phase of the Gaza peace plan agreed by Israel and Hamas last October was welcome but had not fundamentally changed conditions on the ground.
He pointed to continued Israeli attacks, restrictions on humanitarian assistance and the ongoing suffering of civilians.
Martin warns two-state solution is being eroded
He also condemned the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying developments there were damaging prospects for a just and lasting peace.
“What we are witnessing on the ground is a deliberate attempt by some to make the prospect of a two-state solution impossible,” Martin said, citing statements attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israel’s approval of development in the E1 area.
The UN secretary-general has similarly warned that illegal settlement expansion and other developments in the occupied Palestinian territory are eroding the conditions needed for a viable Palestinian state and called for renewed efforts toward a two-state solution.
Ireland backs international legal accountability
Martin also reaffirmed Ireland’s support for the International Criminal Court, saying there could be “no impunity for war crimes” and calling for measures aimed at undermining the court to be withdrawn.
His remarks came amid broader debate at the UN over Gaza, Palestinian statehood and the future of the two-state solution.
The UN secretary-general has urged an end to the fighting, expanded humanitarian access and compliance with international law.
Martin said the international community would ultimately have to confront the record of what has happened in Gaza, warning that the consequences would carry a lasting moral and political weight.
Ireland has been among the countries advocating for Palestinian rights and a negotiated two-state settlement, while Martin’s address placed the issue at the centre of his appeal for a stronger international commitment to human rights and international law.
