Taoiseach refuses calls to kick out Israeli ambassador

THE Israeli ambassador has been carpeted by Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney – but the Taoiseach insisted he would not be expelling the envoy in the wake of the Gaza killings.

Pearse Doherty of Sinn Féin said the Tánaiste should have told Ambassador Zeev Boker to ‘pack his bags’.

However, Leo Varadkar – who recently booted out a Russian diplomat in the wake of the Sergei Skripal affair – said Ireland had never expelled a full ambassador.

It came after the TDs stood for a moment’s silence in the Dáil as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives or were injured in Gaza on Monday.

Mr Doherty said: ‘What happened in Gaza... was a massacre... Live ammunition and tear gas were used against unarmed Palestinians.’

And he declared: ‘In response to a British security assessment delivered to the Government by Boris Johnson that Russia was involved in the Salisbury attack in March, the Government acted quickly and expelled a Russian diplomat.

‘We need an even more robust response in this scenario.’

Mr Varadkar said Minister Coveney had conveyed the outrage and dismay of the Government and Irish people at the numbers killed and injured in Gaza on Monday, and had directly requested that there be an independent international investigation into what happened.

However, the Taoiseach added: ‘The Government will not be expelling the ambassador at this time. Ireland has not expelled an ambassador in recent decades, if ever. That is not the way we believe we should engage with other states.’

There was some tougher talk from within Mr Varadkar’s own party, however, as recently elected Fine Gael senator Anthony Lawlor said Ireland should consider boycotting next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Israel. He went on to suggest that ‘we ban produce coming from the [Israeli] settlers in the West Bank’.