Ireland will arrest the Israeli Prime Minister if he enters the country, the Tánaiste has told Newstalk Breakfast.
The International Criminal Court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden described the arrest warrant as "outrageous", but Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said Ireland respects the authority of the court.
On Newstalk Breakfast, he said Ireland would "execute a warrant" for the Israeli PM if he came here.
"As far as I’m concerned, war crimes have been committed in Gaza," he said.
"What’s happening in northern Gaza at the moment is absolutely horrific - it is resulting in a forced expulsion of a population."
Mr Martin described Israel's attacks on Gaza as "genocidal" and a "collective punishment of a people".
"Ireland wants to have accountability through the International Courts," he said.
"We’ve supported the ICJ and the advisory opinion on the occupation."
Micheál Martin with Newstalk's Ciara KellyUS relations
When asked if this position on Palestine could impact economic relations with the US, Minister Martin said Ireland is already preparing for a "tariff war".
"On the economic front, we have strong bilateral relations with the US - we have to maintain those.
"We’ve already, over the last number months, we’ve been preparing different scenarios on the economic potential of the challenges from President Trump’s administration if they proceed with a tariff war."
Mr Martin said Europe as a whole has "concerns" about the impact of Mr Trump's presidency, but said he hopes the President-elect will end the war.
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"The war needs to end, the hostages need to be released and there needs to be a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza," he said.
"We can respectfully make our points to different administrations, including the US."
The Tánaiste also condemned Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran's "maligned" role in the region.
He said that Ireland would "absolutely" arrest Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri, who has also been issued an arrest warrant by the ICC, if he entered Ireland.
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