Martin refused entry to Gaza

The Israeli government has flatly turned down a request by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin to visit Gaza.

Mr Martin told an Oireachtas Committeee on European Affairs today that he was anxious to visit the territory to access the humanitarian situation but that his request was rejected by Israel without any substantive reason being given.

Mr Martin said several other foreign ministers on the European Council had also been denied permission to visit Gaza, again with no adequate explanation or justification.

Chairman of the committee Fine Gael’s Bernard Durkan called the refusal “intolerable”.

He said: “That an Irish foreign minister is not permitted to visit a region to assess a humanitarian situation is almost without precedent and is tantamount to censorship.”

Mr Durkan described the continuing blockade of the territory by Israel as “utterly unjustified” and said it is “exacerbating” an already dire humanitarian crisis.

“Denying access only serves to give the impression that Israel is unwilling to let the outside world see the suffering which is going on,” he added.

The Minister had intended to visit Gaza later this month.