"I would see this country as more comfortable than any other to hold secret talks to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians together, to educate them about what can be achieved through peace and democracy, " he said.

"I believe there is a lot that we the Palestinians can learn from Irish people. Ireland was occupied at one time and now look at Ireland, number two in terms of standard of living in the EU."

Dr Ajjuri, a medical doctor by training who is also secretary general of the Palestinian Red Crescent, fears that an Israeli air strike against Iran's nuclear facilities would be catastrophic.

"That will be a real disaster, " he said. "Iran has enough missiles to reach the heart of Tel Aviv, even if they don't have nuclear warheads. I am sure they have chemical weapons and biological weapons."

He believes that if Israel were to open up its own nuclear facilities to international inspectors, it might persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme.

Ajjuri was optimistic about the prospect that elections to the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council, scheduled for 25 January, will reduce the instability that is an obstacle to attracting investment.

"No one will think of investing in Palestine before stability, " he said. "Maybe after the elections we will see an improvement. Hopefully, Hamas will join the government, for example. If they are part of the system, they will never go against the system they are executing."

After the elections, Ajjuri hopes to bring Palestinian trade and finance ministers to Ireland to attract investment.

"We are headed for private investment to develop the Palestinian economy. We have a thing in common, Ireland and Palestine . . . no huge natural resources. The real source of the income we have is the man and the brain."

He said the Palestinian Authority was looking at setting a favourable corporate tax rate, and added that Palestinians could offer "cheap labour and a gate to the Middle East. With Egypt you have the biggest market in the region."