Taoiseach: Ireland sees historic parallels with ‘struggle of Palestinian people’

Simon Harris ended his trip to the US on Thursday.

Taoiseach Simon Harris speaking to the media during a visit to Georgetown University in Washington, DC (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

The Middle East conflict reflects the suffering of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, the Irish premier said as he called on international leaders to do more to bring about a ceasefire.

Simon Harris ended his two-day trip to Washington, DC by visiting Georgetown University, where he told students there were “real parallels” between Ireland’s struggle for independence and the “plight of the Palestinian people”.

He was in the American capital to mark 100 years of US-Irish diplomatic relations as part of a series of events which also included a bilateral meeting with US president Joe Biden in the Oval Office.

The leaders discussed the ongoing war in the Middle East and Mr Harris expressed to the students that Ireland had its own history of conflict.

When we speak up about the terrible conflict ongoing in the Middle East we are watching our own history reflected back at us and remembering our own story of suffering

Simon Harris

Drawing parallels with the conflict in Northern Ireland, the Taoiseach said that Irish people believed “that peace is always possible”.

As an example, he referenced the Good Friday Agreement and described the US’s involvement in the historic accords as “one of the greatest achievements of modern American statecraft”.

Mr Harris said: “When we speak up about the terrible conflict ongoing in the Middle East we are watching our own history reflected back at us and remembering our own story of suffering.

“It is the faces of our children that we see crying out to be saved. It is the voices of our ancestors that we hear rebuking us for not doing more.

“Every day we watch with horror as the innocent are punished for the sins of others, and we relive over and over again our own country’s traumatic past.

“I have repeatedly condemned the barbaric terrorist attacks, which took place just one year ago in Israel – but the world can no longer watch as the lives of innocent children and people are maimed, killed, threatened daily.

“The world can no longer ignore the piercing cries of countless children and Ireland will always be honest with friends – the world is not doing enough to bring this violence, devastation and bloodshed to an end.”

The Taoiseach said it is no longer enough to simply call for a ceasefire and added that states must use “every option” at their disposal.

“I say that again because we remember how much it meant in our darkest days when our friends spoke up for us.

“And we do it because Ireland has a responsibility to be a light in the darkness and despair of the world as a legacy of our own history.

“I had the opportunity to discuss all of this at length with President Biden yesterday.”

Mr Harris said Ireland is determined to be a champion of peace, justice and human rights.

“Our vision is of a world where peace triumphs over conflict, where human rights are not a privilege but a birthright, and where every nation – no matter how small – has a role to play in protecting human rights and democratic values.”

He added: “The cycle of history reminds us why we must never shirk from the task: building, brick by brick, the foundations of peace.”

On Ireland’s recognition of Palestine, Mr Harris said: “Ireland knows more than most what it’s like to be to be in the world and to not be seen, to feel ignored, to feel that there is no way forward, to feel that people just aren’t listening.

“And we know what it was like when the United States of America has been the first country in the entire world to recognise our right to self-determination, to recognise our independence, to tell us, ‘We see you, you are Ireland, and we will work with you’.

“And therefore, there are real parallels that we can see in the plight and the struggle of the Palestinian people.”

I was very grateful to have that significant amount of time with the President of the United States yesterday, and we had an opportunity to discuss a lot of things

Simon Harris

Reflecting on his trip, Mr Harris said he is “very grateful” to have spent a significant amount of time with Mr Biden.

“We shouldn’t forget that by next March, whoever’s taoiseach and whatever may or may not happen in elections, and whenever they may be, by next March, Ireland will have been in the Oval Office three times, and that is significant,” Mr Harris told reporters in Washington.

“I must say, taoisigh come and go, governments come and go. It is a huge testament to our diplomats in Washington and to the diplomatic efforts over many years that Ireland has this standing invitation to speak in the Oval Office.

“I was very grateful to have that significant amount of time with the President of the United States yesterday, and we had an opportunity to discuss a lot of things.

“We discussed some things, including the Middle East, which we’ve rightly talked about a lot since and before.

“But we also had an opportunity to discuss the role that we need the United States to continue to play in terms of the Good Friday Agreement on the prosperity agenda.”