Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly has denied ever being “equivocal” on Hamas, a day after saying the proscribed terrorist group was “part of the fabric” of the Palestinian people.
Her comments in a BBC interview on Monday were condemned by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who said Hamas cannot be part of Gaza’s future.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Connolly condemned Israel and Hamas for committing war crimes and said both sides will have to be held to account.
There cannot be a peaceful solution in Palestine unless both sides disarm, she told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
Ms Connolly said she “utterly condemned” the actions of Hamas on October 7th and also said Israel was “out of control” and acting as a terrorist state.
“First of all, I think we want to acknowledge that there is a genocide going on in Palestine,” she said.
“Hamas, who I have condemned over and over, I have never been equivocal on it … What they did on October 7th was absolutely unacceptable, both sides have committed war crimes and hopefully both sides will be held to account.”
Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Ms Connolly said she disagreed with the suggestion that Hamas can have no role in a future Palestinian state, saying this was a matter for Palestinians to decide themselves.
Asked about UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s view that Hamas could not be involved in a Palestinian government, she said: “Hamas is part of the fabric of the Palestinian people, and we – it’s interesting and really cynical that we never imposed sanctions on Israel, who are carrying out genocide, so we need to have an honest discussion.
“I come from Ireland, a history of colonisation, and I would be very wary of telling a sovereign people how to run their country. The Palestinians must decide in a democratic way who they want to lead their country.”
When asked on RTÉ on Tuesday if she accepted Hamas was a terrorist organisation, Ms Connolly said Israel had also been designated a terrorist state.
“Both sides have committed war crimes and hopefully both sides will be held to account. But history did not start on the 7th of October and at some stage parties outside of Palestine and Israel must begin to look at what has led to this conflict and how it can be resolved. And resolved it must be.”
Ms Connolly said she wanted Palestinians to make the decision about their future as “they have a right to self-determination”.
The Taoiseach had criticised her comments in the BBC interview, saying Hamas had “broken every humanitarian law and cannot be part of Gaza’s future”.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations in New York on Monday, he said there should be “unequivocal condemnation of Hamas if we’re trying to chart a future for a Palestinian state, with guarantees for Israel into the future”.
Tánaiste Simon Harris on Tuesday said Hamas offers the people of Palestine “no future”.
Speaking to reporters at the UN in New York, Mr Harris made it clear that he had not seen an RTÉ news interview during which Fianna Fáil presidential election candidate Jim Gavin was asked if Hamas should play a role in any formation of a two-state solution.
Mr Gavin replied that “Hamas haven’t been good to the Palestinian people … ultimately it will be up to the Palestinian people in that two state solution to vote and recommend who represents them”.
Mr Harris, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the Irish position in relation to Hamas “is absolutely crystal clear”.
“Hamas is a despicable illegal terrorist organisation that has brought nothing but pain to the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. It offers the people of Palestine no future,” he said.
Since recognising the state of Palestine last year, Mr Harris pointed out that the Government is continually pushing back against misrepresentations of Ireland’s position on Hamas.
Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy said Hamas is “part of the situation in Palestine” and “there’s no doubt about that”. He said he believes what Ms Connolly said is “consistent” with what has been said by all parties in the Oireachtas.
He said the actions of Hamas were “war crimes” and “indefensible” but so too were the actions of the Israeli government.
“Whether we like it or not,” he said, there will be “no meaningful negotiations without those two entities”.
Mr Carthy said that ultimately what Ms Connolly was calling for is a peace settlement in the Middle East.
The Social Democrats, who have backed Ms Connolly’s presidential campaign, said although they “would not have used the same language as Catherine”, the party believes “it is up to the Palestinian people to decide who their political representatives should be, following free and fair elections”.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman, who has also backed Ms Connolly’s campaign, said he sees Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
“I don’t see them as part of democratic governance of Palestine but I think we have to keep the door open.”
Labour’s Alan Kelly said he expects Ms Connolly will have to withdraw the remarks, while Mr Gavin said he was “surprised” by the comments, but added that Ms Connolly had acknowledged “the atrocities and horrific crimes that Hamas committed over two years ago”.
Meanwhile, on the topic of a united Ireland, Ms Connolly told RTÉ she had repeatedly visited Northern Ireland in a number of capacities and had met groups “from both sides of the divide”.
She denied her interest in the North and a united Ireland was “newfound”.
When asked to expand on her vision of a united Ireland, she said she would invite people from all sides to the Áras. As president, her role would be to articulate article three of the Constitution which addresses the concept of a united Ireland.
Ms Connolly also said she would serve only one term if elected as president.