THE DEPUTY premier of Ireland has accused the Israeli government of “genocidal activity” and “a consistent pattern of war crimes”.
Tanaiste Simon Harris said it was “clear” that Israel wants to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in what experts say would amount to ethnic cleansing.
And asked about Israel's excuses for having fired shots at a delegation of European diplomats, Harris said: "Do they think we're thick?"
The Tanaiste said the world had “not done enough” to put pressure on Israel to change course, and said he would look to draft a bill that would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
Asked on Newstalk radio whether what was happening in Gaza was ethnic cleansing, Harris said: “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 and they’ve dropped the pretence, quite frankly, in terms of what they actually want to achieve.”
The foreign affairs minister also said that the Israeli government’s “convoluted” scheme “to pretend” to provide the most basic level of aid to thousands of starving Palestinians was “despicable”.
“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.
“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.
“They want to clear the Gazan Strip, they want to clear Gaza of Palestinian people, and that is a war crime and the forcible displacement of people, as you say, with the offer of food somewhere else, it really is despicable.”
He said that a two-state solution seemed “further away than ever before” and that the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended as it is being reviewed.
Harris also condemned shots fired near an EU delegation in the West Bank on Wednesday.
Two Irish officials were among those present when what the Israeli military claimed were “warning shots” were fired near delegates.
“This is an utterly, utterly inappropriate and indeed illegal action,” Harris said.
“A number of diplomats, including the Irish head of mission to Palestine and his deputy, were visiting Jenin, a region in the West Bank.
“They were visiting, effectively, an area that’s a refugee camp. They were standing at the gates of that refugee camp, and the governor of Jenin, a member of the Palestinian Authority, was speaking and giving them an update.
“When his speech ended and the diplomats began to disperse, my understanding from speaking to our people on the ground is that a number of members of the Israeli Defence Forces stepped forward and fired warning shots over their heads, or what is 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.”
Asked about the Israeli authorities’ explanation that shots were fired because diplomats had deviated from the agreed route, Harris said: “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 in relation to this.
“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.”
Harris also condemned the shooting of two Israeli embassy officials at an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC as a “vile antisemitic murder”.
He said a young woman from the Irish embassy was also at the event at the museum.
“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,” Harris said.
“It is a despicable act. It’s a heinous crime. It is antisemitic and it’s vile.”
