Ireland has joined several European nations in signing a joint statement condemning the Israeli government’s push to escalate the conflict and seize control of Gaza City, reports RTE.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris, along with foreign ministers from Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain, “strongly condemn the recent announcement of the intensification of the occupation and the military offensive, including in Gaza City”.
“This decision will only deepen the humanitarian crisis and further endanger the remaining hostages’ lives. This operation will lead to an unacceptable high toll of deaths and the forced displacement of nearly one million Palestinian civilians,” the letter states,” reports RTE.
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“We firmly reject any demographic or territorial changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Actions in this regard constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” reports RTE.
Speaking earlier today, Mr Harris reiterated Ireland’s commitment to using all diplomatic means possible to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, the safe return of hostages, and significantly expanded humanitarian support.
Addressing the situation at the Tullamore Show, Mr Harris described the conditions facing civilians in Gaza as “utterly repulsive, and repugnant to everything any decent person could stand for”.
“We now see the [Israeli President Benjamin] Netanyahu government take an extraordinarily dangerous step in the absolute wrong direction and we are joining today with a number of other European countries and countries in the broader European family like Norway in calling this out for what it is and condemning these actions,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr Harris also pointed to the widespread protests that took place overnight in Tel Aviv, saying: “I’ve noted overnight the very significant unrest and upset that there is in Israel in relation to this and we’re now seeing thousands of people in Israel take to the streets and they’re saying to their government ‘not in my name’,” reports RTE.
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