Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said some of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s comments about Israel and Gaza “lacked balance”, adding that he had “said that to her”.
His comments had criticism by President Michael D Higgins of Ms von der Leyen after she did not include a call for Israel’s retaliation to conform with international law.
In the Dáil today, Mr Varadkar said Ireland condemned the Hamas attack on Israel.
However, he said it was “not acceptable for Israel to violate international law”, reports RTE.
He said: “Nobody wants to see this spread,” reports RTE.
He was responding to Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns, who said Ms von der Leyen’s comments were a “serious over-reach of her authority.”
“This is not a war, it is genocide and ethnic cleansing”, Ms Cairns said, reports RTE.
She said 6,000 bombs were dropped on half of Co Louth.
Earlier, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou Macdonald called on the government to press for a ceasefire in Gaza.
She said she “absolutely condemned” the Hamas attack, reports RTE.
The Tánaiste and Foreign Minister Michael Martin condemned the Israeli army’s calls for civilians to leave northern Gaza as “unrealistic, unworkable and deeply dangerous”, reports RTE.
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