Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said he hoped to get unanimity from the EU regarding sanctions against violent settlers in the West Bank, as the world is "shocked" at the level of "inhumanity" within Gaza.
"Ireland favours sanctions on violence settlers in the West Bank, we regret that unity and unanimity still hasn't occurred within the Foreign Affairs Council to date," he said ahead of the meeting of EU's foreign ministers.
Mr Martin said that in Gaza ordinary people are living "hell on earth" at the moment.
While backing Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, some Western countries have stepped up scrutiny of settlements they deem illegal and an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Israel disputes this. It also opposes calls for a Palestinian state.
The US, Britain and France have each announced sanctions against West Bank settlers accused of political violence.
France said it would bar 28 people over settler violence, while Britain sanctioned four settlers over conduct it characterised as "threatening Palestinians, often at gunpoint, and forcing them off land that is rightfully theirs".
On 1 February, the US confirmed similar moves against four settlers.
'Simply inhumane' for Israel to press ahead with Rafah offensive
Speaking in Brussels, Mr Martin also said it would be "simply inhumane" for Israel to press ahead with an offensive in Rafah.
"We must do everything possible to put pressure on the Israeli government not to go into Rafah. I have had first-hand accounts from UN agencies, from UNRWA, as to the appalling situation there … the incredible suffering, the immense suffering that families are going through, with over one-and-a-half million people crowded into a very small corner of Gaza.
"They're weary, they are exhausted from moving from the north to the centre, and on to the south of Gaza.
"They have nowhere else to go. There are thousands of children who have been without school for months. The trauma they have gone through is extraordinary. How can anyone contemplate adding to that trauma? That is beyond me. It [would be] simply an inhumane act."
The Tánaiste also condemned Hamas's taking of hostages as a war crime, and urged them to lay down their arms and release hostages.
He said he would strongly urge the European Commission to resume its funding of UNRWA.
"Anyone I’ve spoken to knows that without UNRWA you simply cannot deliver an education system within Gaza. You cannot deliver a medical system, primary or community care within Gaza."
He said UNRWA would be indispensable in providing day-to-day services in Gaza after any ceasefire.
"It is the only organisation that has the reach and the bandwidth to do that, and that is why there has to be less fudging over this issue, and there has to be common sense and clarity brought to this issue. And I will certainly be articulating that today."
The Tánaiste said he would be raising Ireland and Spain’s request to the European Commission to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, although he acknowledged that there is not yet unanimity from member states on the issue.
"It will be very challenging, and some would not agree with the Irish and the Spanish position.
"But that said, it's important that we raise it in the first instance, because these agreements are carefully negotiated. The clauses are not put in for no reason. And we have to be clear that they matter, and the content of agreements matter and that they're fulfilled."
Additional reporting Tony Connelly
