Biden and the Irish leader use St. Patrick’s Day visit to address Gaza

President Biden used what is normally a festive St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House on Sunday to acknowledge growing international concern, including among the Irish, over the humanitarian situation of Palestinians amid Israel’s military action in Gaza.

“The Taoiseach and I agree on the urgent need to increase humanitarian assistance in Gaza and reach a ceasefire agreement,” Mr Biden said alongside Leo Varadkar, the Irish Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, a outspoken critic of Israel’s war against Hamas. to the terrorist attack of October 7. As hundreds of Irish-American leaders and government officials applauded, Mr. Biden said a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians was “the only path to lasting peace and security.”

The celebration at the White House, with lots of green food coloring, shamrocks and Guinness, is typically a chance for Mr. Biden to break away from foreign policy speeches and threats to American democracy to celebrate his Irish-American heritage. But during his trip to the United States, Mr Varadkar made it clear he would raise his concerns about the war in the Middle East with the US president.

The Prime Minister was, in a sense, speaking to a domestic audience in Ireland, which, given its own history of resistance to British rule, is among the European countries that are more supportive of the Palestinians. Ireland was the first European Union country to call for a Palestinian state and the last country to allow the opening of a residential Israeli embassy.

“Mr. President, as you know, the Irish people are deeply concerned about the catastrophe unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, and when I travel the world, leaders often ask me why the Irish people have so much empathy for the Palestinian people,” Mr Varadkar said: “The answer is simple: we see our history in their eyes.”

While Mr Varadkar said he supported the government’s efforts to reach an agreement for a temporary ceasefire in return for the release of hostages, he also directly cited the Israeli bombings. While Mr. Biden has recently taken a sharper tone toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the White House has said there are no plans to provide military aid to Israel.

“The people of Gaza urgently need food, medicine and shelter, and above all, a stop to the bombs,” Mr Varadkar said. “This must stop on both sides: the hostages are brought home and humanitarian aid is allowed.”

The comments come after Mr Varadkar said Israel had been “blinded by anger” since Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured more than 200 on October 7. He has also warned that the invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that currently houses 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, would be a violation of international law. The war against Hamas has already led to the deaths of more than 30,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to local health authorities.

The White House has also said it will not support an Israeli military operation in Rafah without comprehensive plans for evacuating displaced Palestinians from the area. Neighboring Egypt has said it will not accept any Palestinians.

While expressing concerns about the war in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two leaders took time Sunday to celebrate the history between their two nations.

Mr Biden, never one to shy away from leaning on his heritage, told the crowd gathered in the East Room how much he appreciated visiting the home of his Irish ancestors in Ballina last year. Those in attendance, many wearing green and drinking pints of stout with the shape of the White House pressed into the white foam, listened attentively and often cheered at the many references to Ireland.

“The Irish are the only people who are nostalgic about the future,” Biden said, prompting laughter from the crowd. “We are always looking for the next horizon. That is also a very American trait. Yet more proof that the bond between Ireland and the United States runs deep.”