Irish presidential candidate says not for Starmer to say if Hamas should be excluded
Irish presidential candidate says not for Starmer to say if Hamas should be excluded
Sinn Fein-backed Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has criticised demands by foreign leaders that Hamas be excluded from any future Palestinian governance.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster on Monday, Connolly said Hamas was “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people” and that it was not for the likes of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to dictate to them over the issue.
The UK announced it was recognising the State of Palestine on Sunday, a move that Ireland took last year, as part of what it said was an attempt to resurrect the peace process.
However, in his statement, Starmer also warned that Hamas could have “no role in government” as well as “no role in security”, and said they would impose further sanctions on the group.
Connolly, whose independent presidential run was last week was backed by left-wing Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, said that the Palestinians should be allowed to decide their leaders democratically. She has also received backing from the Social Democrats, Labour, the Green Party and other left Irish parties.
“I don’t think it’s up to Keir Starmer to make that statement at all,” she said.
“I come from Ireland, a history of colonisation, and I would be very wary of telling a sovereign people how to run their country.”
The Labour government announced over the summer it would recognise a Palestinian state alongside France if Israel did not meet a series of British conditions.
These conditions included agreeing to a ceasefire and committing not to annex any of the occupied West Bank.
In response, Israel accused the UK and other countries pledging to recognise a Palestinian state - including Australia and Canada - of siding with Hamas.
France also recognised the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in New York City on Monday, following recognition by the UK, Australia and Canada on Sunday.
“The time has come to free the hostages, the time has come to stop the war, massacres and the fleeing people,” President Emmanuel Macron said at the UN.
“This is the very reason today here, in this chamber, we must pave the way for peace.”
However, he also called for the demilitarisation not just of Hamas, but the future Palestinian state, demanding it contribute “to the security of all in the Middle East”.
“There is no alternative,” he said.
