The Taoiseach has written to the President of the European Council, António Costa, asking that he put Israel's treatment of EU citizens from the Global Sumud Flotilla on the agenda of the upcoming EU summit.
Micheál Martin said leaders should now consider the suspension of all or parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement as a result of what he called the illegal detention of EU citizens by the Israeli Defence Forces in international waters.
There are at least 12 Irish citizens on board the flotilla that were detained by Israel, according to organisers. Hundreds more participants from other countries have also been detained.
In a video on social media, Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is shown walking among some of the detainees and saying they should remain in prison for a long time.
The footage shows some people kneeling on the ground in tightly packed groups with their hands tied behind their backs. The footage also shows Mr Ben-Gvir heckling and waving an Israeli flag amongst the detained activists.
Israeli minister posts video taunting detainees
Describing treatment of those on board the vessel as shocking, the Taoiseach said the business-as-usual approach to dealing with Israel was no longer appropriate.
A draft of the letter, seen by RTÉ News, describes the behaviour of Mr Ben Gvir as "unacceptable" and states that the treatment of the activists are the latest examples of a pattern of behaviour that has seen what Mr Martin called the growing disregard by Israel for international norms and its failure to meet its obligations under international law.
The Taoiseach said that seven months on from a ceasefire, the people of Gaza still lived in shocking conditions and continued to suffer a humanitarian disaster.
He said that the ongoing expansion of Israeli illegal settlements in the West Bank and the impunity of settlers inflicting extreme violence against Palestinian communities amounted to a deliberate attempt to undermine the viability of the two-state solution.
The Taoiseach also referred to Israel's plans to introduce the death penalty for Palestinians tried in Israeli military courts who are accused of killing Israelis, and an increase in violence against - and harassment of - Christian communities in Jerusalem.
These actions, as well as attacks on South Lebanon, including on UNIFIL peacekeepers, were fundamentally at odds with the EU's basic principles and values, he wrote.
He urged President Costa, who represents 27 EU leaders and chairs regular summits, to place the issue on the agenda of the summit in Brussels on 18 and 19 June.
EU foreign ministers last week agreed unanimously to sanction a number of violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank, while the European Commission is bringing forward measures to restrict the trade in goods from such settlements.
The Taoiseach is expected to raise the issue during his meeting in the Élysée Palace with French president Emmanuel Macron tomorrow, as part of his tour of European capitals ahead of the Irish presidency of the EU from 1 July.
Mr Martin will travel on to Rome where he is due to meet Pope Leo XIV and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
More: Criticism as activists forced to kneel, seen with hands tied
