Kehoe rules out withdrawal of Irish troops from Golan Heights

The withdrawal of Irish peacekeeping soldiers from the Golan Heights has been ruled out by Minister of State for Defence Paul Kehoe.

He said no mission came without its dangers and he did not believe a withdrawal would be in the best interests of peacekeeping.

“I believe they are doing very important work there on an ongoing basis,’’ he added.

The soldiers are serving on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) monitoring a truce between Syria and neighbouring Israel in place since 1974.

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Heavy machine gun fire from the Syrian civil war has landed in the Irish base and mortar rounds have hit just outside the camp. Israeli defence forces have carried out retaliatory strikes.

Mr Kehoe told the Dáil he had asked Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, General Brennan, to keep him abreast of all ongoing situations there.

He said Ireland was "absolutely, steadfastly'' committed to UN peacekeeping and this informed interactions with all partners at the UN and elsewhere.

Fianna Fáil spokeswoman Lisa Chambers said reports suggested a full-scale offensive was taking place in Quneitra, less than 2km from the Irish camp.

In one instance, she said, the mortar fire landed so close to the Irish base that it shook the ground and Irish troops thought they had been hit.

Ms Chambers said informed security sources said at no time were the Irish camp or UN personnel deliberately targeted.

“I am concerned that there has been no publicity about this and no official response,’’ she added.

Independent TD Mick Wallace said Ireland was facilitating the ongoing illegal occupation of the Golan Heights by Israel.

“The Israeli government recently called for an increase in settlements by 100,000 over the next five years,’’ he added. “This is scary.’’

Independent TD Clare Daly said it was an odd type of ceasefire when it was established fact that Israel had been given material aid to ISIS, the Al-Nusra front and others in the Golan Heights.

Mr Kehoe said he had answered questions from the media last week, adding his paramount concern was to protect the health and safety of Irish personnel.