Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he believes efforts are being made abroad to misrepresent Ireland's position in relation to Israel's war on Hamas.
Mr Martin was responding to a question about political opposition in the United States to the Occupied Territories Bill, which is currently before the Oireachtas.
He was asked if he was concerned that Ireland might suffer economically if the legislation is enacted, given opposition to it expressed by some US politicians.
"We don't want, in any way, to undermine Ireland. The whole purpose of the exercise is not that Ireland would suffer unduly in respect of this," Mr Martin told RTÉ News.
The Taoiseach detailed instances where Ireland had supported the rule of international humanitarian law. He said there was "no question" but that it was being breached in Gaza on countless occasions.
"There are efforts abroad to undermine the integrity of Ireland's position, [and] to misrepresent Ireland's position. I am conscious of that, but we will always work to protect our economic interests and the national interest," Mr Martin said.
Mr Martin reiterated the Government's position that Israel's war on Hamas needs to stop, hostages need to be released, humanitarian aid needs to be facilitated and a political process needs to be developed to work towards a long-term solution in the Middle East.
Separately, the Taoiseach criticised the use of language of the former minister Alan Shatter at the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs earlier this week.
Mr Martin said he was "very dismayed" at the language used by Mr Shatter.
"It was false language and some very false presentation," he said.
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