Taoiseach hits back after US ambassador to Israel says Irish have ‘fallen into a vat of Guinness' over Occupied Territories Bill
Mr Huckabee asked whether the Irish had 'fallen into a vat of Guinness', and said Ireland should call the Israeli Foreign Ministry and apologise.
'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness and propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication?' Mr Huckabee wrote on X.
'It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up, Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA and say you're sorry.'
Micheál Martin rejected the remarks, adding that what was happening in Gaza was 'beyond any moral compass'.
'The situation is very serious in Gaza, including an appalling loss of human life. Terrible war crimes are being committed,' Mr Martin said.
'Ireland has consistently condemned Hamas, and we equally condemn Israeli breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
'The slaughter of children must stop. The slaughter of innocent civilians queuing for food must stop.
'Ireland stands for peace and a political pathway forward.'
Mr Martin was asked about the comments made by Mr Huckabee while speaking to reporters yesterday. He appeared to mistake the comments as coming from an Israeli representative.
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He strongly criticised the Israeli government, and said: 'Israel needs to focus on ending the war that is slaughtering innocent children and civilians. The Israeli ambassador, if that's who you're referring to, should concentrate on that, and should be apologising to the families of children who've been slaughtered.
'The time for this war to end is long past. We've condemned the behaviour of Hamas. I won't be subject to misinformation from the Israeli government or from the ambassador. It's not good enough.'
Later, when clarification was sought on his comments, a statement from the Taoiseach was issued in which he said he rejected the comments made by Mr Huckabee.
Mr Martin said the Government would not bow to pressure from the US to scrap the bill, which is currently undergoing scrutiny at the Foreign Affairs Committee.
'No, we are going ahead with the bill. I have said previously that there have been issues in terms of [also banning the import of] services, and the impact that might have on multinational companies based in Ireland, inadvertently,' Mr Martin said.
'We don't want companies that are based in Ireland, employing people, punished in any shape or form.
'That would be counterproductive in terms of the objective being to leverage pressure on Israel, not on Ireland.'
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