Collins noted the historic sympathy towards Israel in Ireland had been damaged by "cases of Irish troops being brought home dead from Lebanon".

[10] In 1978, Aer Lingus, the national airline of Ireland, without prior agreement with the Irish government, secretly trained Egyptian Air Force pilots, at a time when Israel and Egypt were still in peace talks, and had yet to sign a treaty.

[citation needed] According to leaked diplomatic cables, following the 2006 Lebanon War, Ireland sought to "limit US weapons transfers to Israel" through its territory and Shannon Airport.

Noting that the appointment would be "reviewed annually", an Israeli Foreign Ministry source stated that Tinari-Modai was a "professional diplomat" who could have "secured a full ambassadorship on her own merits".

The survey ranked Ireland as "in the middle in comparison with other countries in Western Europe" in terms of responses to questions on attitudes to Israel and to Jewish people.

Kelly presented her credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin stating that her goal was to "continue to work to strengthen and expand the cooperation between our countries".

[38] Israeli exports to Ireland include machinery and electronics, rubber and plastics, chemicals, textiles, optical/medical equipment, gems, and fruit and vegetables.

[40] In August 2014 controversy erupted when it became public that Ireland had approved export licences for military goods worth up to €6.4m to be shipped to Israel over the previous three years.

While the Irish government refused to give exact details on the type of equipment, updated figures showed military licences totalling €126,637 had been approved in advance of the 2014 Gaza conflict.

Sinn Féin's Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Fianna Fáil senator Averil Power demanded more transparency over the export approvals.

[52] On 5 June 2010, the humanitarian aid vessel MV Rachel Corrie sailing from Ireland (where she had been refitted) to Gaza, was intercepted and seized by the Israeli Navy.

In response, Irish Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore stated that the Irish government do "not agree with [the Gaza blockade], (...) regard it as contrary to international humanitarian law in its impact on the civilian population of Gaza, and (...) have repeatedly urged Israel to end a policy which is unjust, counter-productive and amounts to collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians.

[60] Additionally, an official from the Irish Foreign Affairs Department countered that "the Government is critical of Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

[62] In December 2012 the IsraelinIreland posted on the Embassy's Facebook page a comment that was viewed as racist and slanderous to Palestinians: "A thought for Christmas.

Her recommendation included the following: "You have to try and hit their soft underbellies, to publish their photographs, maybe that will cause embarrassment from their friends in Israel and their family, hoping that local activists would understand that they may actually be working on behalf of Mossad.

[71] On 31 July 2014 on the 23rd day of the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Ireland's Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan said he shared "the horror and revulsion of senators and very many of our citizens at the horrendous scenes we have witnessed since the start of the Israeli military operation."

The image of the Irish Molly Malone statue was edited by the Israeli Embassy to show her covered with a Muslim veil along with the words, "Israel now, Dublin next."

[73][74] On 22 October 2014, the Seanad (Irish upper house of parliament) passed a motion calling on the government to give formal recognition to the State of Palestine and take active steps to promote a viable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

[79] Subsequently, the Irish government announced that it would accept a motion proposing the recognition of Palestine, with 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as the capital, as specified in U.N. resolutions.

[84] On 9 April 2018 Dublin City Council became the first European capital to vote in favour of resolutions endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and calling for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.

[85] On 10 April, the Lord Mayor of Dublin Mícheál Mac Donncha travelled to Ramallah to attend a Palestinian Authority conference on the status of Jerusalem, avoiding an Israeli government ban due to confusion arising from the spelling of his name in Irish on his passport.

[86] In response, the Israeli government summoned the Irish Ambassador to formally demand an explanation for the boycott motions of Dublin City Council and the Lord Mayor's attendance at the conference.

[88][89] If fully enacted, it will restrict the importation of goods that originated from any of the Israeli-occupied territories, including the settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.

In May 2021, the Dáil declared that the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land was de facto annexation, becoming the first EU member state to do so.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's tweet welcoming her release as "an innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned" faced criticism from the Israeli President and Foreign Minister.

[92][93] In May 2024, in response to an encampment at Trinity College Dublin, the university's administration agreed to a set of demands outlined by the protestors, including complete divestment from investments in Israeli companies with activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN blacklist.

[97][98] On 15 December 2024, the Foreign Minister of Israel, Gideon Sa'ar announced the closure of the Israeli embassy in Dublin due to what he described as the "extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government" which he characterised as "antisemitism".

This decision came a week after the Irish government decided to formally intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

[35] In response to the Taoiseach's comments, Sa'ar accused Simon Harris of antisemitism and described the proceedings of the International Criminal Court as "politicised".

[102] In February 2025, Israel Katz (then the Israeli Defense Minister) suggested that Palestinians displaced from Gaza by a plan proposed by Donald Trump (described by Human Rights Watch and other groups as a form of "ethnic cleansing") should immigrate to Ireland.