ISRAEL HAS HIT out at Simon Harris after he “forgot” to mention Israeli hostages “rotting in Hamas tunnels” in his inaugural speech as Taoiseach.
Its foreign ministry has accused Ireland of “being on the wrong side of history” due to its response to the crisis in Gaza.
In his speech on Tuesday, Harris described the humanitarian situation there as a “catastrophe”, where innocent people are being “starved and slaughtered”.
He also said: “We have not been silent on the unforgivable terrorist actions of Hamas on 7 October, nor can we be silent on the disproportionate reaction of the Israeli government.
“And as a country, we will play our part in helping bring about ceasefire and the lasting peace.”
Harris has consistently called for the unconditional release of all Israeli hostages, mentioning it in a Fine Gael Ard Fhéis speech at the weekend, as well as his call with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak yesterday.
Today, the Israeli foreign ministry accused the Irish government of not doing enough to condemn Hamas and its 7 October attacks.
“Simon Harris, the new Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, chose to refer to the war in Gaza in his inaugural address but ‘forgot’ to mention the 133 Israeli hostages who have been rotting in Hamas tunnels for the past six months,” the statement says.
“After the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and even after the war crimes, the crimes against humanity and the sexual crimes that were committed, and are still being committed, by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women and men, there are those in Ireland who persist on being on the wrong side of history.”
Ireland is to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Israel said this equates to awarding “prizes” for “terrorism”.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said this week that Ireland is on its way to officially recognising the state of Palestine.
A Bill on the subject passed successfully through both the Seanad and the Dáil in 2014 but the government said it would only follow through on it when other EU states had done so too.
It’s now expected to be brought to Cabinet in the next couple of weeks.
In the Dáil today, the Tánaiste faced tough questions about Ireland’s relationship with the United States, one of Israel’s closest allies.
People Before Profit TD Brid Smith said that “diplomatic channels have done nothing” to save the lives of innocent people in Gaza.
She raised concerns about the use of Shannon Airport by the US military, which she says has been “more frequent” since October.
Martin rebutted, saying that in 2024, no applications have been received or exemptions granted to permit the carriage of munitions of war in Irish airspace.
He accused Smith of trying to “muddy the waters” by speculating on what the US is using Shannon Airport for.
A protest about the issue is to be held at the airport on Sunday.
The Tánaiste also said that if the Irish government had expelled the Israeli ambassador in October – when opposition parties had called on them to do so – then the more than 70 Irish people who have since been evacuated would still be in Gaza.
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