Irish PM Martin: We Have Condemned Hamas Repeatedly and Sanctioned Them

Martin: “ — will damage all of us and damage economies and consumers.”

BAIER: “How do you expect, though, to work well with the Trump Administration, given the fact that this administration really does support Israel very strongly? You’ve been very outspoken about the Israel-Hamas and the situation in Gaza, and Ireland is a leader in the International Criminal Court case against Israel, a major U.S. ally. So how do you square that?”

Martin: “Well, first of all, the fundamental point is that we would agree with President Trump’s call for and decision to ensure that there would be a ceasefire. We’ve been calling for a ceasefire from early on because we don’t want innocent civilians killed. We have condemned Hamas, by the way, repeatedly. We have sanctions on Hamas. And I went to Israel in solidarity with Israel after October the 7th, I went to kibbutz [inaudible]. I saw for myself the horrific impact that that barbaric attack had. We’ve always been on the side of a peaceful solution involving a two-state solution. We welcome President Trump’s unrelenting focus on peace in the Middle East and in Ukraine. And his envoy did make things happen early on in his administration to bring about that cessation. Our focus now is on copper-fastening the ceasefire, getting all of the hostages out. In our view, we have said from the very start, they should have been released unconditionally. And also a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Because it is hell on Earth there at the moment for families and people living there. Hamas has done terrible damage to its own community and we have always been consistent — consistently on the side of peace and people living in harmony alongside of each other, which is the ultimate guarantor of security. It’s a very complex situation, that I acknowledge, but I think our agreement with President Trump is on the centrality of peace and the need to try and copper-fasten the ceasefire that has occurred and get all the hostages out as quickly as we can now.”

BAIER: “Mr. Prime Minister, finally, Monday is a big day in America, Irish Americans celebrate it.”