I took careful note of the addresses of both Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations General Assembly in September. It was disheartening, but not surprising, that we heard two very different perspectives of the current state of play. At the same time, both leaders acknowledged the need to work towards a two-state solution, a point that was also underlined by the Taoiseach in his remarks to the General Assembly. The need to redouble efforts in this regard was underlined by President Abbas and the Foreign Minister, Dr. Riad Malki, during their visit to Dublin in September. I assured them that Ireland stands ready to support all efforts to help resume credible negotiations aimed at achieving a just and lasting two-state solution. This was an issue that I discussed in a number of my bilateral engagements throughout UN High Level Week, including with my counterparts from Algeria, Qatar, Norway, Egypt and Jordan. Prime Minister Lapid’s speech recalled that a large majority of Israelis support the vision of a two-state solution and he repeated his own commitment to a two-state solution, which was welcome.
Regrettably, however, we continue to witness a situation where Israeli actions on the ground undermine the prospects for progress. In recent months, we have seen the ongoing threat of evictions and demolitions in Masafer Yatta, the expansion of illegal Israel settlements and increases in violence and incursions by the Israeli security forces in the West Bank. The raids on six Palestinian NGOs in August resulted in a further reduction of the civil space in the occupied Palestinian territory for civil society organisations and human rights defenders, who play a critical role in our view, in promoting international law, peace, human rights and democratic values. This deteriorating security situation and the increasing number of casualties, including among civilians, is deeply concerning and underscores the urgent need for a political horizon and a path towards relaunching a peace process. As the House will be aware, supporting efforts to this end will remain a high priority for me and the Government in our bilateral engagements, as well as within the EU and the United Nations.