Tánaiste Micheál Martin has accused the Israeli government of engaging in “genocidal activity” in Gaza, reports Breaking News.
Simon Harris said it was “clear” that Israel aims to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, describing it as part of “a consistent pattern of war crimes”.
He criticised the global community for not applying sufficient pressure on Israel and said he plans to draft legislation that would prohibit trade with Israeli settlements deemed illegal under international law, reports Breaking News.
Asked on Newstalk whether the situation amounted to ethnic cleansing, Mr Harris responded: “In light of the very clear comments that we’ve seen from the Israeli government in recent days, we’re very much now in the space of genocidal activity.
“I think that is just a statement of fact. We have seen a consistent pattern of war crimes, and we now have an Israeli government that is being very blunt in terms of outlining what it is intending to carry out in Gaza. They’ve dropped the pretence, quite frankly, in terms of what they actually want to achieve,” reports Breaking News.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs also condemned what he called Israel’s “convoluted” approach to delivering basic aid to starving Palestinians.
“This idea that the Israeli government will come up with some sort of a convoluted scheme to effectively pretend to be providing the most basic level of aid is despicable,” he said, reports Breaking News.
“Benjamin Netanyahu has been very clear about this in recent days, when he has effectively said, to paraphrase him, the only reason we’re doing this is to allow us to continue what he describes as their ‘political objectives’. And their political objectives now are very clear, reports Breaking News.
“They want to clear the Gaza Strip of Palestinian people. That is a war crime. The forcible displacement of people, with the offer of food somewhere else, it really is despicable,” reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris also expressed concern that a two-state solution now appears “further away than ever before” and called for a suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which is currently under review.
He also condemned an incident in the West Bank where shots were fired near EU diplomats, including two Irish officials.
“This is an utterly, utterly inappropriate and indeed illegal action,” Mr Harris said, reports Breaking News.
He explained that Irish diplomats were visiting a refugee camp in Jenin when, following a speech from the regional governor, Israeli soldiers stepped forward and fired what were described as warning shots.
“Whether they were warning shots or otherwise, they were shots – and firing shots at diplomats is an absolute, clear breach of international law,” Mr Harris said, reports Breaking News.
Asked about the Israeli military’s claim that the shots were fired due to a deviation from the agreed route, Mr Harris rejected the explanation: “Do they think we’re thick?
“They knew that diplomats were visiting the region, and the diplomats notified the Israeli Defence Forces in advance. I don’t accept in any manner or means the Israeli Defence Forces’ explanation. I find it utterly offensive, in fact. There needs to be – as we’ve said at an EU level – a full investigation in relation to this, and those who fired the shots, or those who gave the commands to fire the shots, need to be held accountable,” reports Breaking News.
Separately, Mr Harris strongly condemned the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy officials at a Jewish event in Washington DC, calling it a “vile antisemitic murder”.
He noted that an Irish embassy official was also present at the event.
“This is a vile antisemitic murder of two young members of the Israeli embassy – a young couple, I believe, who were due to very shortly be engaged,” Mr Harris said, reports Breaking News.
“It is a despicable act. It’s a heinous crime. It is antisemitic and it’s vile,” reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
