Palestinians ‘need the bombs to stop’, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said yesterday as he made an impassioned plea for a ceasefire in Gaza, speaking during a St Patrick’s Day reception at the White House. — AFP picWASHINGTON, March 18 — Palestinians “need the bombs to stop”, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said yesterday as he made an impassioned plea for a ceasefire in Gaza, speaking during a St Patrick’s Day reception at the White House.
“The aspirations of the Palestinian people to have a homeland and a fully fledged state in the land of their forefathers is equal to that of Israel’s,” he added.Varadkar has been one of Europe’s most critical leaders over Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which began when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on the southern part of the country.
“We see our history in their eyes, a story of displacement, of dispossession, and national identity questions are denied. Forced emigration, discrimination, and now hunger,” he said, invoking his country’s bitter memories of its own struggles against British rule. “The Taoiseach and I agree about the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza and get the ceasefire deal... that brings the hostages home and moves towards a two-state solution,” he said Sunday.