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 both 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 Radio 1’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,” Ms Connolly said.
“Hamas, who I have condemned over and over, I have never been equivocal on it,” she said.
“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 had said she disagrees 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 have to sit down at some stage. I mean, let’s look at what Israel are doing and call it out for what it is. They’re absolutely out of control.
“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. In the meantime the slaughter is going on, and the genocide is going on.
“Both sides have to disarm. We know that from the conflict in Northern Ireland. We know from Colombia. We know that from all countries. We cannot have a peaceful resolution without disarmament.”
Ms Connolly said she wanted Palestinians to make the decision about their future. “They have a right to self-determination. They have the right to decide what type of government they want. There are lots of governments that I don’t agree with. There are a lot of countries that I do not agree with in the way they treat women or men. But each country has a right to decide themselves.”
Asked if Nato shared any blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ms Connolly responded that nobody had condemned the Israeli attacks on Iran and Qatar.
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.
“Hamas is not that option because Hamas has consistently refused to recognise an Israeli state and are vowed and committed to the elimination of an Israeli state.”
On Tuesday, 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 are 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 presidential candidate Jim Gavin said he was “surprised” by the comments, but added 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 that addressed the concept of a united Ireland.
The cross-Border structures were already in place, she said, adding great work had been done about bridging the divisions.
She had an open mind about what could happen, she said, but it would have to be done with consent and respect to all traditions. Everybody would have to be involved in drafting a new Constitution, she added.
Ms Connolly also said she would serve only one term if elected as president.