 Yesterday, Ireland joined only three other countries, alongside them Belgium, Spain and Malta, in demanding that Israel institute an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Here is what its foreign minister, Miehl Martin, had to say on the matter. There has to be and must be a humanitarian ceasefire immediately. We'll be asking that support would go to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in respect of his quest and the efforts that he is making to bring about such humanitarian ceasefire. Here is the problem with the Irish approach. Demanding that Israel agree to an unconditional ceasefire isn't a statement that's in any way congruent with so-called neutrality. Demanding that Israel institute a ceasefire without preconditions is the exact same as asking Israel to forego its very legitimate military objective of destroying Hamas. It's asking Israel to accept only your very selective interpretation of proportionality and the application of international humanitarian law. It's backseat driving Israel's war effort and asking it to tolerate foreign indefinite and open-ended period a terrorist entity on its doorstep which is not only hell-bent on its destruction but determined to repeat time and time again the atrocities of October 7th, including beheading civilians, raping women and mowing down party goers. It's asking for Israel to give Hamas time and space to rearm, regroup and re-strategize and prepare again to do exactly that. Demanding a ceasefire without preconditions isn't neutral, it's pro Hamas, it's pro terror and it's certainly very anti-Israel.