LAST UPDATE | 12 Oct

THE TAOISEACH SIMON Harris has said Israel must stop firing on UN peacekeepers, as he outlined plans to call for an immediate ceasefire at next week’s meeting of the European Council.

It comes after Israeli troops fired on UN headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers for the second time in as many days.

In a statement released overnight, Harris said: “Israel must stop firing on UN peacekeepers serving with Unifil in Lebanon.

“Israel must listen to the voice and the concerns of the international community.”

Harris said he will be discussing the incidents with EU colleagues at next week’s meeting of the European Council.

“I will be calling for an immediate ceasefire that can allow us to focus on implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and get people back to their homes,” he added.

Harris has come under fire for his approach to his meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office this week, due to his reluctance to directly raise the issue of the US supplying arms to Israel.

“President Biden and I discussed the situation when we met in the White House this week, and agreed that those who serve in Blue Helmets on behalf of the UN must always be afforded full protection,” Harris said in his fresh statement.

The Taoiseach said he has also been communicating with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting have so far failed. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said his government will also ask the UN Security Council to issue a new resolution calling for a “full and immediate ceasefire”.

Irish DF chief warns of ‘direct fire’ by Israel

Yesterday evening, Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff Sean Clancy has said he believes the attack on a UNIFIL peacekeeping position in Lebanon by the Israeli military was “not an accidental act”.

““It has to be very deliberate, and it’s a direct fire. So from a military perspective, this is not an accidental act. It’s a direct act,” Clancy told RTÉ Six One.

UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon have found themselves on the frontline of the Israel-Hezbollah war, which has killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he believed the UN peacekeepers had been “deliberately targeted”.

Guterres condemned the firing as “intolerable” and “a violation of international humanitarian law,” while the British government said it was “appalled”.

US President Joe Biden said Friday he was “absolutely” asking Israel to stop firing at UN peacekeepers.

The incidents came more than two weeks into Israel’s war with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has seen Israeli warplanes conduct extensive strikes and send ground troops across the border.

With reporting from AFP and PA