Speaking in frank terms President Michael D Higgins criticised von der Leyen's, saying that the EU commissioner was 'not speaking for Ireland', on her recent trip to Israel on behalf of the EU.

Today at the World Food and Agriculture Forum, President Higgins spoke of von der Leyen's trip telling reporters: 'I don’t know where the source of those decisions was. I don’t know where the legitimation for it was and I don’t know where the authority for it is and I don’t think it was helpful'.

Ms von der Leyen did not call for Israel's retaliation of the 7th of October Hamas attack to adhere with international law.

The President also made reference to recent statements by both Tánaiste Mícheál Martin and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar saying that Ms von der Leyen was 'not speaking for Ireland and she wasn’t speaking for the opinions that they hold'.

Leo Varadkar said today during leader's questions that Ms von der leyen's comments on Friday night 'Lacked balance'.

The President of EU Commission said 'how Israel responds will show that it is a democracy'.

Speaking to journalists in Rome Higgins said: 'It may not have been meant to have malevolent consequences but certainly we need a better performance in relation to European Union diplomacy and practice'.

Continuing, President Higgins said: 'To announce in advance that you will break international law and to do so on an innocent population, it reduces all the code that was there from second world war on protection of civilians and it reduces it to tatters'.

These statements come off the back of his speech opening the 2023 session of the World Economic Forum where he said competition for food and water as a resource is becoming 'an ever-increasing cause of conflict'.

President Higgins warned the forum  that as a species we are  on 'the verge of an abyss'.

Higgins continued to say that there has been unprecedented increases in 'expenditure on armaments rather than food', and stated that it was critical for us 'to reject the suggestion that war is the natural condition of humanity' and condemned the use of 'hunger as weapon of war'.

President Higgins remarks of 'hunger becoming  a weapon of war', echoed those of UN chief Antonio Guterres made last week in relation to Israel's planned siege of Gaza.

Guterres said that he was: 'deeply distressed by today's announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in – no electricity, food, or fuel'.

President Higgins is taking part of a five-day program of events which will include an audience with the Pope, a meeting with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and a wreath laying ceremony to honour Irish man the late Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, who saved thousands of jews from the holocaust in World War II.

An emergency meeting of the heads of EU member states has been today in an effort to “harmonise” the bloc’s response to the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

The safety of Irish troops in Lebanon and Syria is set to be raised by Peter Burke Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Peter Burke with the Taoiseach today at this meeting of the EU Council.