Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris has called on the European Union to “review its trade relations” with Israel, following what he described as a “shameful” vote by the Israel’s Knesset on a law banning the activities of UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, in that country.
Harris was speaking on Tuesday in Dublin on the occasion of the visit to the Irish capital of the next president of the European Council, Portuguese Antonio Costa, who is due to take office by the end of the year.
“The most important step the European Union could take now is to review trade relations at E.U. level. What Israel and the Knesset did last night is despicable, dishonorable and shameful,” said the Irish prime minister.
“More people will die, more children will starve,” he added.
Israel’s parliament on Monday passed by a large majority laws that prohibit UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory and make it illegal for state officials to be in contact with representatives of the agency.
The Knesset passed the two laws, which followed exposures about UNRWA staff’s complicity in the Hamas massacres of Oct. 7, 2023, despite pressure by the United States and other countries to desist for fear that it would complicate humanitarian projects in Gaza and beyond.
Haaris said he will be discussing with Antonio Costa “how Europe must now find the moral courage, in my view, to act.’’
Ireland along with Spain has been one of the most critical European countries of Israel since Israel began its military operation in Gaza following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.
Both Spain and Ireland, along with non-E.U. member Norway, and Slovenia, recognized a “State of Palestine’’ in May and June.
On Monday, the four countries issued a joint statement condemning the Knesset vote, underlining the “essential and irreplaceable” work of UNRWA “for millions of Palestinians and particularly in the current context in Gaza.”
“Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and others are calling for more action at E.U. level, which I think would be very effective, and I will continue to make that case,” said Harris.
Earlier this month, Spain’s prime minister urged the European Union to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel over its military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.
Pedro Sanchez requested a response from member states to the requests from Madrid and Dublin to halt the E.U.-Israel Association Agreement, claiming that Jerusalem’s actions during the war may violate the agreement’s human rights clause.
