Ireland accuses EU and West of ‘double standards’ on Palestine

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Sunday that “there is double standards from the EU and some Western powers in relation to Israel and Palestine.” Varadkar made his comment during an interview with Irish radio station RTE, adding that neither Shannon Airport, nor any other Irish airport, was being used by the US military to support Israel.

“No. You have to receive express permission to bring munitions through any airport in Ireland and they have to be signed off on by the Department of Transport and the Minister for Transport, and that’s not happening,” he told RTE.

The Taoiseach stressed that when it comes to international humanitarian law, it has to apply across the board.

“One of the concerns I have is that the double standards that are being applied by some countries in the West is actually undermining the fight in Ukraine,” said Varadkar, “because one of the things that I’ve been working very hard on, and European leaders have been working very hard on, is to gain support for Ukraine across the global south – from Africa, from Latin America, from Asia – saying to them that what’s happening in Ukraine is a war of aggression, it’s an imperialist war.”

There was no immediate comment from the EU on the Irish Prime Minister’s statements.

READ: Israeli helicopter opened fire on Israelis in festival during Hamas attack on 7 October