Tánaiste Michael Martin called on Israel to reverse its order to evacuate citizens from Gaza, saying “two wrongs don’t make a right,” reports Breaking News.
The ruling came after the United Nations (UN) said the Israeli military had told it that some 1.1 million people in northern Gaza “should relocate to southern Gaza” within 24 hours, describing the international agency’s humanitarian office as “impossible”.
Speaking at an event in Co Cork, Michael Martin said: “We are all witnessing the horrific consequences of Hamas’ attacks on Israel and the random and indiscriminate killing of Israelis,” reports Breaking News.
He said: “The human suffering here is quite shocking and we’re now seeing the outcome of that violence in terms of terribly sad funerals and bereavement and confirmation of deaths. In respect of Israel and Gaza, we’ve been very clear that Israel has a right to self-defence but it must be within international law and that there are obligations under the Geneva Convention. It simply isn’t feasible that a million people can move out of the city in 24 hours,” reports Breaking News.
“That call by Israel should be rescinded and should be pulled back because I think everybody knows it’s not something that can be achieved at all and I think it puts enormous trauma on the ordinary civilians and Gazans. Two wrongs don’t make a right and there’s an obligation to protect civilians in Gaza, to protect children and families and so forth and people who have nothing to do with Hamas,” he added, reports Breaking News.
“There are challenges and I would accept that Israel has a legitimate right to deal with Hamas because Hamas has waged war on its civilians but it cannot be in the context of an attack on the civilian population of Gaza. Our value system is one that does not in any way support any collective punishment of an entire population. That’s not acceptable from our perspective,” he said, reports Breaking News.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has also stated that Israel is engaging in collective punishment and dont have the right to breach the international law in its retaliation to Gaza.
On Thursday, he said: “Israel is under threat. They do have a right to defend themselves but they don’t have the right to breach international humanitarian law. And I’m really concerned about what I’m seeing happening in Gaza at the moment. To me, it amounts to collective punishment. Cutting off power, cutting off fuel supplies and water supplies, that’s not the way a respectable democratic state should conduct itself,” reports Breaking News.
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