Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Israel’s response to the October 7th attack by Hamas “resembles something more approaching revenge”.
Speaking to reporters in the South Korean capital of Seoul, Mr Varadkar said collective punishment was a breach of international law and that Israel’s response to the attacks had gone beyond self-defence.
“I think it’s very important we never forget where this started. This phase of the conflict started with a Hamas attack on Israel, where 1400 civilians were killed, including one person who’s a dual Israeli-Irish citizen. I strongly believe that, like any state, Israel has the right to defend itself, has the right to go after Hamas so that they cannot do this again.
“But what I’m seeing unfolding at the moment isn’t just self-defence. It looks, it resembles something more approaching revenge. That’s not where we should be and I don’t think that’s how Israel will guarantee its future freedom and its future security,” he said.
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Asked if Israel’s actions were war crimes Mr Varadkar said: “That’s not for me to determine. That’s for others to determine.”
He also said: “collective punishment is a breach of humanitarian law but there’s a process by which these things are determined and I don’t stand in judgement in that sense.
“But certainly the targeting of civilians, collective punishment, these are breaches of humanitarian law whoever commits them.”
In a statement to RTÉ, the Israeli Embassy in Ireland said Israel is “acting within international law” and “taking extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties”.
It added: “We have seen the Taoiseach and Tánaiste’s strong condemnation against Hamas since the beginning of the war.
“Calls for Hamas to immediately release all 242 Israeli and international hostages held in Gaza must be heeded.
“It is important to remember that Hamas bears responsibility for creating this situation and for the ongoing and constant rockets being launched at Israel every day since the October 7th massacre in southern Israel.”
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “The Taoiseach’s comments this morning that Israel is not acting in self-defence are correct”.
She argued it is “a recognition of the serious deterioration of the situation in Gaza as Israel breaches international law with devastating consequences.
“We need ceasefires, we need humanitarian aid and we need accountability for the breaching of International Law,” she said.
“The Irish position of upholding international humanitarian law must guide the actions of our government. The Taoiseach has correctly set out the gravity of Israel’s actions.
“The position of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland is now untenable, the ambassador should no longer enjoy diplomatic status in Ireland while Israel refuses the imperative for ceasefires and as the suffering and death toll grow.”
In his remarks Mr Varadkar also declined to describe Ireland is a friend of Israel, saying that Israel does not regard Ireland as a friend or ally. He said that Ireland was doing what was possible in the European Union and at the United Nations to call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
“I think Israel listens to countries it considers to be friends and allies like the US. I’m not sure they listen very closely to what we have to say, quite frankly, and that’s the reality of the situation. But that’s not going to stop us taking the position that we are in the UN, a very strong position at the EU to try and re-centre that position,” he said.
“I think, given what’s been said by Israel and Israeli authorities, they wouldn’t consider us to be close friends and allies in the way they’d consider the US to be, or the UK or Germany, for example.”
Ireland was one of just eight EU member-states that voted for UN general assembly resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, with most member-states abstaining.
“It’s a state that we have relations with, but I don’t think we’re as close as we might have been, or perhaps could be, because we do take a different position than most western countries on Palestine than what’s happening at the moment,” he said.
Mr Varadkar declined to comment on reports that an Irish citizen may be among more than 200 hostages held in Gaza since Hamas killed 1,400 people in Israel on October 7th. He said he received a briefing from the Department of Foreign Affairs on the issue on Friday morning.
“I’m not in a position to talk about individual cases but what I can say is that when it comes to any Irish citizen in Gaza – we do have over 30 Irish citizens in Gaza – that we’re working with Israeli authorities, with other member states at the UN, to enable Irish citizens to leave should they wish to do so,” he said.
“I have to respect the wishes and concerns of the people involved and these are very sensitive issues and I don’t think anybody wants to say anything that might cause anyone difficulties. I can’t say any more about it than that.”
Asked about Mr Varadkar’s comments while speaking in Galway on Friday morning, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said: “I have been very clear and I’ve said this, not just at home but in a European context as well, Israel has a right to defend itself.
“We saw the murder of 1,400 innocent civilians, it was absolutely appalling and Israel absolutely has a right to defend itself.
“But it has to do so with a humanitarian focus. We have to look at the fact that there are thousands of innocent civilians now being killed in Palestine. We have been very clear in our position, there needs to be a humanitarian focus. Any type of defence [by Israel] has to be done inside international law, we have made that very clear and the Taoiseach has made that very clear.
“Obviously, we would like to see other colleagues making that statement and making that very clear also,” she said.
Meanwhile, Israel said it had surrounded the Gaza Strip’s biggest city and the focus of its drive to annihilate Hamas, as the United States was set to press Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to agree to pauses in fighting to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave.
[ Israeli forces enter Gaza City as foreign nationals fleeOpens in new window ]
With the conflict nearing the end of its fourth week, US secretary of state Antony Blinken was due to visit Israel for the second time in a month to meet Mr Netanyahu as Israel’s military battled Hamas militants, who fought back with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.
“We’re at the height of the battle. We’ve had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing,” Mr Netanyahu said in a statement after the military said it had encircled the seaside enclave’s main city.
As Mr Blinken left Washington for the Middle East, he said he would discuss concrete steps to minimise harm to civilians in Gaza. The White House, meanwhile, said any pauses in fighting should be temporary and localised, and insisted they would not stop Israel defending itself. – Additional reporting from Reuters
