SHANNON AIRPORT WAS used as a refuelling stop by private aircraft carrying Palestinians deported from the United States to Israel earlier this year, according to an investigation by The Guardian.

The report found that two chartered flights operated on behalf of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped at Shannon Airport in January and February while transporting Palestinian men from the US to Tel Aviv, from where they were later taken to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The first flight, which passed through Shannon on the night of 20 January, reportedly carried eight Palestinian men who were shackled at the wrists and ankles during the journey.

A second flight followed the same route and stopped at the Co Clare airport on the night of 1 February.

The flights were carried out using a private Gulfstream jet owned by Florida property developer Gil Dezer, a longtime business partner and donor to former US president Donald Trump.

The aircraft was chartered by ICE through a third-party aviation company.

According to the Guardian investigation, the men were met by Israeli security personnel on arrival in Tel Aviv and later dropped at checkpoints in the West Bank.

In a statement today, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said stops at Irish airports by private aircraft and commercial charters for technical, non-traffic purposes (such as refuelling) “do not require prior authorisation from the Department.”

Opposition figures have raised concerns about Ireland’s role in the flights, with Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Senator Patricia Stephenson describing the reports as “deeply disturbing”.

The senator added the deportees were reportedly flown across the world in shackles and left in an active conflict zone, arguing that this raised serious human rights and international law questions for the State.

“The government must now answer serious questions regarding whether they view this action as a breach of international law, and what action they will take to take control of the situation,” Stephenson said.

We cannot allow our so-called special relationship with the US to blind us to human rights and international law violations.

“Those who were deported were dropped off at a checkpoint in the West Bank after prolonged detention in ICE facilities – this might be the chosen modus operandi of the Trump regime, but the Irish people utterly reject these actions as permissible,” Stephenson added.

“The government claims it is a staunch supporter of international law, a beacon of hope when it comes to upholding human rights – it must now explain its hypocrisy.”

The Guardian reported that Dezer said he was “never privy to the names” of those on board his aircraft when it was chartered and was only notified of the dates of use.

He did not respond to further questions from The Guardian about the flights.

The US Department of Homeland Security declined to answer questions about the deportations but said that individuals without the right to remain in the US would be removed.

Israel’s foreign ministry and prison service also declined to comment.

The use of Shannon Airport by US military and charter flights has long been controversial, with anti-war activists accusing successive Irish governments of facilitating US operations through the airport.

The government has not yet indicated whether it will seek further clarification from US authorities regarding the flights.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton