The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris has described Israel’s attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon as a breach of international law.
Speaking to BBC News in Washington DC, Harris said it was an “extraordinarily concerning development”.
He described attacks on three United Nations Interim Force positions in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as “really dangerous, despicable attacks on peacekeepers”.
Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission. None were hurt in Thursday’s attacks but two Indonesian soldiers were injured.
The taoiseach said that the IDF had positioned themselves at a UNIFIL outpost which was being manned by about 30 Irish peacekeepers, but had since moved following UN and US intervention.
The taoiseach said that he was protesting “at the highest levels” in relation to the attack, and said that the United Nations, and all of the countries making up the peacekeeping mission should “speak with one voice” about what he called Israel’s breach of international law.
However, he said he was concerned that “Israel doesn’t listen”.
He added that Israel had “a right to defend itself, a right to live in peace and security” and that no-one disputed that but that “international law has to be followed, and proportionality also has to be due”. He said neither of those tests were currently being met.
He said he had spoken to the US President Joe Biden twice in recent days, including at an hour-long meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
He said he had also spoken to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the matter.
Israel has requested that the UNIFIL peacekeepers withdraw from Southern Lebanon, but the taoiseach rejected that.
He said: “We cannot have a situation where aggression can force a peacekeeping mission to leave.”
Harris said the IDF and Hezbollah needed to “respect the role of our peacekeepers” and what was needed was an “urgent de-escalation” and a ceasefire.
Israel claimed that the failure of the UN to enforce the 1701 resolution which called for a demilitarised zone and the disarmament of Hezbollah had been partly to blame for the current conflict.
Harris said: “It’s very hard to take a lecture from Israel in terms of holding UN resolution right now, or indeed international law, when we’ve seen completely disproportionate war and the impact that that has had from the humanitarian crisis point of view of civilians, including children.”
The taoiseach said there were “significant lessons” that could be learned from the Northern Ireland peace process, and the first was to “never allow the world to believe that a terrorist organisation is the same as a country”.
Ireland is one of several European countries that has recognised the state of Palestine.
The taoiseach said it took that decision because “we know Palestine is not Hamas”.
He said: “Hamas is a despicable, disgusting terrorist organisation that should be condemned outright by all right thinking people, but we know what it’s like in Ireland to have efforts to hijack and sabotage your national identity and your flag by terrorists, and we can never stand for that.”