Ireland played into the hands of Hamas by recognising Palestine as a state so soon after Oct 7, an Irish senator has said.
Ned O’Sullivan added that it was “highly ironic” that many of the people condemning Israeli violence also celebrated IRA terrorists.
The senator is a member of the centre-Right Fianna Fáil party, which is part of Ireland’s coalition government.
He told the Seanad, the upper house of the Irish parliament, that the government was right to formally recognise Palestine earlier this week but he had “serious reservations” about the timing of the decision.
“There is every danger that Hamas is perceiving it right now as a reward for what it carried out on October 7,” he said referring to the terrorist attack on Israel.
“Let there be no doubt about it: Hamas began this current conflict. This current round of an age-old conflict was started by Hamas.
“It sickens me to see the video clips of what they did to young, vibrant women out celebrating a concert. They were humiliated, degraded, raped.”
He added, “Unfortunately, Hamas got cheers for doing that from a large sector of the Palestinian community. I think that must be borne in mind by the pro-Palestinian lobby here.”