Updated / Thursday, 18 Jun 2026 18:19
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the credibility of the European Union is at stake if there is a failure to take strong action against Israel for breaches of international law and what he described as war crimes on a number of fronts.
He was speaking ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels which will address repeated calls by a number of member states - including Ireland - for sanctions against extremist Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Leaders will also discuss forthcoming European Commission proposals on a potential EU-wide ban on goods from illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
While sanctions would require the unanimous support of all 27 member states, which is currently not forthcoming, and a ban on goods could be done through a weighed majority, the Taoiseach said the matter should be put to a vote at the level of EU foreign ministers.
A number of EU countries have said they do not support any punitive sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir
"The credibility of Europe is undermined by a failure to take a strong stance in terms of what has been a breach of international law ... war crimes on a number of fronts," he said.
He accused Israel of feeling oblivious to the impacts of its actions on the region.
He told reporters: "There comes a stage when people should be allowed to vote as member states to articulate their positions. If it's put to a vote at some stage, then that might create its own dynamic in terms of member states' positions in respect of Israel's behavior in Lebanon, in Gaza, and indeed in the West Bank, in particular."
He added: "When we go to other countries and say to them, in terms of Ukraine and the Russian invasion, or what's happening in Sudan, I think our credibility is damaged by our failure to act.
"I understand fully that not everybody is on the same page, and countries for historical reasons have different perspectives. We look at it in terms of fairness, justice, human rights, and by any standard, by any objective assessment, what has happened in Gaza."
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The Taoiseach wrote to the President of the European Council Antonio Costa, who chairs summit meetings, following Mr Ben-Gvir's harassing of the Gaza Flotilla detainees, asking to put the episode on the agenda of this evening’s meeting.
Earlier this week, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had said there was still no unanimous support at present among EU member states to sanction Mr Ben-Gvir.
EU sanctions on any individual or entity require the support of all member states.
A number of countries, including Czechia, had said they do not support any punitive sanctions against Mr Ben-Gvir over the flotilla issue.
Mr Martin confirmed this month that Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich had been banned from travelling to Ireland, adding that the ministers words "amount to a desire to see the elimination of Palestinians from Palestine".
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