Ireland not to remain silent as taoiseach calls Palestinian suffering 'morally and legally wrong'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA)— Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) on Wednesday denounced Israel for inflicting "this level of suffering" on Gazans "without mercy, compassion, or a shared sense of humanity," declaring that Ireland will not remain silent.

Speaking at the Irish parliament, or Dail, Micheal Martin said the Irish people are aware that what has occurred in Gaza over the last 19 months "is wrong, in a fundamental way."

"To inflict this level of suffering on a civilian population with nowhere else to go is just wrong. Wrong morally and wrong legally. It is an affront to human decency. It is without mercy or compassion or a shared sense of humanity. And it has to stop," he added.

Martin said his country "has not been and will not be silent" in the face of what is happening in Gaza, recalling that they, along with Norway and Spain, recognized the state of Palestine a year ago this weekend.

"We did so because we believe that the people of Palestine and the people of Israel both deserve to live in peace and security side by side.

"The government will continue to do all that we can to realize that goal, however distant it may seem from today's grim perspective," he said.

The Israeli army resumed its assaults on the Gaza Strip on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January and adding to the overall death toll since October 2023 to over 53,600 people.