Ireland called on the European Union on Tuesday to reassess its trade relationship with Israel, following what it described as a "despicable" decision by Israeli lawmakers to ban the U.N.'s Palestinian aid agency.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris criticized the Israeli parliament's "shameful" banning of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza.
The move has stirred a growing international backlash, including from Israel's ally the United States and European powers.
"The most important action that the European Union could take right now is reviewing trade relations," Harris told reporters in Dublin before meeting incoming European Council President Antonio Costa.
"What Israel and the Israeli Knesset did last night was despicable, disgraceful and shameful. More people will die, more children will starve," he said.
Harris added there was "no alternative" to UNRWA, and that he would discuss with Costa "how Europe now needs to find the moral courage ... to act in relation to this.
"Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and others have been calling for more actions at an EU level. I think that would be a very effective way and I'll be continuing to make that case," he said.
Costa replaces outgoing European Council chief Charles Michel on Dec. 1 and is touring European capitals prior to taking up the new post.
He did not speak to the media ahead of meeting Harris in the Irish capital.
Ireland, along with Spain, Norway and Slovenia, earlier this year formally recognized a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Alongside Türkiye, they have been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza, which sparked the latest rounds of violence across the region.
In February, Dublin and Madrid asked the EU to "urgently" examine whether Israel was complying with its human rights obligations in Gaza under an accord linking them to trade ties.
They noted the "EU/Israel Association Agreement ... makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship."
