Irish President Michael D. Higgins has been accused of spreading lies after alleging that Israel would like “to have a settlement in Egypt” during a press conference on Tuesday.

Higgins made the controversial statement while answering questions about Ireland’s deteriorating diplomatic relations with Israel during a credentials ceremony for PLO Ambassador Jilan Abdaljamid and Ambassador of Italy Nicola Faganello.

The comment came after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar branded Higgins an antisemite amid the ministry’s decision to close the Israeli embassy in Dublin.

Higgins said it was a “very serious business to actually brand a people because in fact they disagree with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, who is in breach of so many bits of international law, and who has beached the sovereignty of three of his neighbours, in relation to Lebanon, Syria, and would like in fact actually to have a settlement into Egypt.”

He added: “I think to suggest that because one criticises Prime Minister Netanyahu, that is, one is antisemitic, is such a gross defamation and slander. Well, I have to say that originally when I accepted [Israeli Ambassador Dana Erlich’s] credentials, I put it [comments about Irish policy] down to lack of experience, but then I saw later that it was part of a pattern to damage Ireland.”

Sa’ar responded to the comments on X, once again calling Higgins antisemitic and explaining Israeli actions in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza as Israel’s right to defend itself. He called the reference to Egypt “invented” and accused the Irish president of “spewing lies”.

Chief Rabbi of Ireland Yoni Wieder also criticised Higgins’ allegation in a statement to the JC, calling the claim “totally baseless”.

Rabbi Wieder said, ”I had to listen to this clip three times before I could be sure I hadn’t misheard him. Where did he get this from? Israel has honoured its peace treaty with Egypt for 45 years and has never shown any desire to violate Egyptian sovereignty.

“It’s baffling that he made such a claim, and it’s equally baffling that national broadcasters don’t give a fact check when reporting on such statements.

"The result is that a significant portion of the Irish public now see this baseless accusation as fact. We’ve seen these sorts of baseless accusations against Israel here before in recent months. It does nothing for peace or for constructive dialogue, and it’s this kind of thing that explains why the Israeli foreign ministry decided to close their embassy in Ireland.”

Last week Sunday, Sa’ar ordered the closure of the Israeli embassy in Ireland, citing “antisemitic actions and rhetoric” and a pattern of promoting anti-Israel media narratives. The decision came shortly after the Irish government approved a proposal to join in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.