Israeli “oppression” is the “direct reason” for the weekend attack by Hamas militants, which killed more than 700 people in southern Israel, the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland has said.
Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said “hundreds of Palestinians pay with their lives” each time conflict erupted between Israel and Palestine.
“We are human beings, we have the right to protect ourselves. We are enduring this prolonged Israeli occupation for decades,” she said.
The head of the Mission of the State of Palestine would not be drawn on whether she would condemn Hamas for the attacks on Saturday, which included militants attacking people attending an outdoor rave close to the Gaza border, leaving hundreds dead or missing.
“You cannot deny that the oppression of the Palestinian people over decades is a direct reason for what is going on now ... You cannot just say Hamas did that,” she told The Irish Times.
“The root cause of this grave situation has to be addressed ... The oppression, the occupation, the denial of rights over decades,” the ambassador said. “The Palestinians have over the years believed that no one is caring.”
The ambassador said she was fearful for civilians currently living in Gaza.
Israel has declared a state of war in response to the attacks, cutting off electricity and the entry of food and fuel into the Gaza Strip, in advance of an anticipated ground invasion.
“Imagine the lives of the young children, but not just the women and children, everyone in Palestine will suffer.” She said families living in Gaza would be “wiped out” in the escalating war.
“I lost a cousin in the last 48 hours, he’s a young man, he had a child and a family,” she said.
“Israel is taking revenge now on the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Dr Wahba Abdalmajid said the Palestinians had chosen peace since the Oslo Accords signed three decades ago.
“We didn’t change our commitment to the peace. Peace is not just something you just talk about ... you have to act the talk. You can’t live without peace, we are always looking to have a peaceful way of life,” she said.
Dr Wahba Abdalmajid said she could not point to “any actual steps” that had been taken by the international community in recent years towards delivering a peaceful solution to the region in the Middle East.
Tensions had been increasingly heightened by illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank, as well as violence between settlers and Palestinians, she said.
In a statement, the Israeli embassy in Ireland said it was “thankful for the widespread international support” in response to the attacks by Hamas, as well as condemnation of the group’s actions by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin.
“There is no justification for these atrocities and barbaric acts. There should be a united and clear stand against these indiscriminate attacks,” it said.
“We urge other public figures to condemn these acts and support Israel and its right to self defence,” the embassy said.
