Ireland

Staying in a haunted castle is anything but awful in County Offaly.

Trinity College said it had restricted access to the campus to students, staff and residents to ensure safety and that the Book of Kells exhibition would be closed on Saturday.

“If you believe [in] a two-state solution, I think a very good starting point is recognizing that there are two states," Simon Harris told Christiane Amanpour.

Ireland, alongside Spain and other EU nations, moves closer to recognizing Palestine formally, aiming for joint recognition to bolster peace efforts in the region.

"We want to stop the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and help kickstart a political peace process leading to the realization of the two-state solution as early as possible," a spokeswoman said.

Simon Harris, speaking to his party on Saturday, affirmed Ireland's readiness to recognize a Palestinian state. He condemned Hamas but said the Irish were "repulsed" by Israel's actions in Gaza.

The 37-year-old former health and higher education minister was elected unopposed as the new leader of Fine Gael last month, just days after Leo Varadkar's shock exit.

The nation's foreign minister did not say what form the intervention would take or outline any argument or proposal Ireland plans to put forward.

The Gardai announced they would implement a review of the security situation at the embassy as a result of the increasing number of threats.

Since 1988, 139 out of 193 United Nations member states have recognized Palestinian statehood.