Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2023-11-08
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Leo Varadkar (FG), Dublin West

There is also a young Irish-Israeli girl who may well be being held in Gaza as a hostage of Hamas as well. Let us not be just one-sided about this. Our priority, no matter who is holding them, is for Irish citizens to be able to get out and get to safety. That means we need to be able to engage with the Israeli Government and the Israeli ambassador. At some point we also want to be able to talk about peace, reconciliation and reconstruction. That may seem ridiculous now, but we have to keep that hope alive. While expelling the ambassador might make us feel better for a day or two, and it might be a story in the international news for a day or two, it would not actually have an impact on Israel's policy, not for a second. The Deputy is a bit naive if he actually thinks that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-11-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:22+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-11-08