Micheál Martin first EU Foreign Minister to Visit Gaza in 1 year

rich1874

Micheál Martin was the first EU foreign Minister in nearly a year to gain access to the Gaza Strip. He didn't get permission from Israel but got permission from Egypt and was not permitted to talk to any Hamas officials despite a Hamas delegation waiting for him at the border.

He described the scenes in Palestine as appualing and called Israels grip on the region as 'the collective punishement of 1 and a half million people'. In his interview with morning Ireland(here), he called for an end to the blockade but seemed slow to outrightly condemn Israel.

magma69

I'm glad he didn't sugar coat the issue. It is about time the International Community took some serious action against this. Israel refused to let him visit on the grounds that they did not want him to come in contact with Hamas. What a ridiculous excuse. They clearly do not want the world to see what condition the place is in. Ironically, Gaza is said to be reminiscent of the Warsaw Ghetto.

I really wouldn't be surprised if Ireland begins sanctions against the nation should the recent Mossad passport revelations be found to be true.

killer_cain

magma69 wrote: »

I really wouldn't be surprised if Ireland begins sanctions against the nation should the recent Mossad passport revelations be found to be true.

Knowing how gutless the Irısh government are, I would be VERY suprised.:mad:

Kiwi_knock

magma69 wrote: »

I really wouldn't be surprised if Ireland begins sanctions against the nation should the recent Mossad passport revelations be found to be true.

No chance of our government imposing sanctions against Israel. It would be going against the US and the other European nations. Martin's interview will be the extent the government will go to criticise Israel. I'm surprised that Martin spoke out against Israel to this extent, will not make him popular with the US government. My estimation of Martin has gone up after this interview, it seems not all our ministers our afraid to speak out on areas of particular public interest nationwide and internationally.

dvpower

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

I'm surprised that Martin spoke out against Israel to this extent, will not make him popular with the US government.

I dunno. Both Biden and Clinton have been critical of Israel in recent days over the settlements issue.

Cunsiderthis

Without wanting to turn this thread into a debate about the issue, it's important to realise that there are two sides to every story, and the "Israel Bad-Palestine Good" interpretation of the situation is a little simplistic.