Ireland has joined a group of European countries to issue a letter strongly condemning Israel’s plan to expand its military operations in Gaza, describing the plans as potentially constituting “a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law”.
Tanáiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris, along with the foreign ministers of Spain, Norway, Iceland and Luxembourg, is among the signatories to the letter.
The letter says that the countries “strongly condemn the recent announcement of the intensification of the occupation and the military offensive, including in Gaza city.”
“This decision will only deepen the humanitarian crisis and further endanger the remaining hostages’ lives. This operation will lead to an unacceptable high toll of deaths and the forced displacement of nearly one million Palestinian civilians,” it says.
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“We firmly reject any demographic or territorial changes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Actions in this regard constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” it adds.
Last week the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
In a statement, Mr Harris said: “I strongly urge the Israeli government to reconsider the decision taken yesterday to escalate its offensive in Gaza. Israel’s actions are confounding the international community. Any expansion of military operations can only deepen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, leading to further displacement of the civilian population.
“The exhausted people of Gaza continue to face the prospect of famine. The time for a ceasefire and hostage release deal is long overdue. I call again for Hamas to release all hostages immediately.
“I reiterate Ireland’s unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognised borders, consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions, and in this regard stress the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”
Speaking at the Tullamore Show today, Mr Harris further said the Israeli plan marked “an extraordinarily dangerous moment in what has already been a genocide”.
He said the Israeli government was about to “take an extraordinarily dangerous step in the absolute wrong direction”.
Meanwhile, Irish band U2 has also issued a statement condemning the move, with frontman Bono having previously been criticised for his silence on the subject.
He said the Government of Israel led by Mr Netanyahu “deserves our categorical and unequivocal condemnation” and that there is “no justification for the brutality he and his far right government have inflicted on the Palestinian people”.
“I want to make clear to anyone who cares to listen our band’s condemnation of Netanyahu’s immoral actions and join all who have called for a cessation of hostilities on both sides,” Bono said.
