President Joe Biden has left the Taoiseach “in no doubt” of the seriousness of a conversation he has had with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to bring about a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Simon Harris met the US President in the Oval Office for just under an hour, during which the Ukraine, Northern Ireland, undocumented Irish people in America, and the conflict in the Middle East was discussed.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Harris said: “The President briefed me on the fact that he had a very lengthy conversation with the prime minister of Israel today. It is for President Biden to speak to that and his administration, but he left me in no doubt that this was a conversation of substance and of depth in terms of actions that Israel needs to take, in terms of humanitarian aid, in terms of bringing about a ceasefire.”
Mr Harris added: “My understanding from the conversation I’ve had with the president is that he has, he has made it very clear to the Prime Minister of Israel, in no uncertain terms, the concerns of the United States of America in terms of the direction that Israel has continued to go on, in terms of civilian impact, in terms of lack of aid.
“I wasn’t on the call, and it’s not for I’m not privy to one of the details of the call, but I am, I am clear that the President told me very clearly that he had a very substantial conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel today, I would have made the point to President Biden that in addition to needing to see a ceasefire and an end to the conflict. We also have a major humanitarian crisis where countries like Ireland wants to help and we can’t get the aid in.”
Mr Harris said that he had raised the plight of Palestinians with the US leader, stating: “We know what it is like in Ireland to not feel seen by the world, we know what it is like to have our national identity hijacked by a terrorist organisation because Palestine, of course, is not Hamas. Hamas is a despicable terrorist organisation.”
