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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Israel has instructed their ambassador to Ireland to immediately leave the State.
It comes after Ireland today (May 22) formally recognised the State of Palestine while simultaneously condemning the October 7 massacre and Hamas, which Taoiseach Simon Harris said "has nothing to offer but pain and suffering to Israelis and Palestinians alike".
In his speech, the Taoiseach referenced Ireland's own struggle for freedom, and said, "On the 21st of January 1919 Ireland asked the world to recognise our right to be an independent State.
"Our ‘Message to the Free Nations of the World’ was a plea for international recognition of our independence, emphasising our distinct national identity, our historical struggle, and our right to self-determination and justice.
"Today we use the same language to support the recognition of Palestine as a State."
He said today's recognition is a statement of "unequivocal support for a two-State solution - the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their peoples".
However, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, immediately recalled their ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, as well as their ambassador to Norway following Norway's decision to also recognise Palestine's statehood.
In a post published on X (formerly Twitter), Minister Katz stated, "I have instructed the immediate recall of Israel’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway for consultations in light of these countries' decisions to recognize a Palestinian state.
"Israel will not remain silent in the face of those undermining its sovereignty and endangering its security.
"Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays. After the Hamas terror organization carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognizing a Palestinian state.
"This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran's jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defense."
He continued: "Israel will not remain silent - there will be further severe consequences. If Spain follows through on its intention to recognize a Palestinian state, a similar step will be taken against it.
"The Irish-Norwegian folly does not deter us; we are determined to achieve our goals: restoring security to our citizens, dismantling Hamas, and bringing the hostages home. There are no more just causes than these."
The minister's comments come despite the Taoiseach re-iterating Israel's right to exist "securely and in peace with its neighbours".
He said, "Let me be clear that Ireland condemns the barbaric massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7th last. Civilians attacked and murdered. Hostages taken in the most brutal and terrifying of circumstances, including a young Israeli-Irish child.
"We call again for all hostages to be immediately returned to the arms of their loved ones.
"Let me also be clear that Hamas is not the Palestinian people. Today’s decision to recognise Palestine is taken to help create a peaceful future."
He continued, "A two-state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence, retaliation and resentment, where so many wrongs can never make a right.
"Just as Ireland's recognition as a state eventually led to the establishment of our peaceful Republic, we believe that Palestinian statehood will contribute to peace and to reconciliation in the Middle East."
He concluded, "We will continue to work so that you and your children and your children’s children can have the better future you deserve and so that one day Palestinian children and Israeli children can live side by side in peace and security."
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