Ireland can be proud of our determination to end Gaza’s Armageddon
THE Government may have got it badly wrong in the recent referendum. But, when it comes to the Israel/Hamas war, we should be proud of the way it has responded. From day one, it was spot on in its reaction to the awful events unfolding there.
While the Government roundly condemned the horrific October 7 massacre and kidnapping of innocent Israeli citizens, it was equally to the fore in calling for an immediate ceasefire. Rather than waiting for an EU-agreed statement, which was always unlikely to be quickly agreed, it was one of the first EU countries to nail its colours to the mast.
Because of this, our ministers have had to deal with criticism coming from the Israelis, alleging that Ireland was not impartial when it commented on the Middle East situation.
This attitude is not unusual. The Israelis have, for decades, suggested that Ireland’s foreign policy on the region was heavily weighted in favour of the Palestinians.
For instance, when I was foreign minister in the mid 2000s, my Israeli counterpart told me bluntly that his ‘friends in Europe tell him that Ireland is always against Israel’ and followed this up by asking me why that was.
It has to be accepted that, in recent years, if one was to listen to the debate – both inside and outside Leinster House – the overwhelming majority of speakers have backed the Palestinian people – and blamed the Israelis for all the troubles in the Middle East.
Settlers
As always, in disputes like this, there is fault on both sides. However, one of the main reasons why the loudest voices in Ireland were raised in favour of the Palestinians has been the continuing land-grab by Israeli settlers of private Palestinian land in the West Bank.
In general, this situation has been facilitated by successive Israeli governments, despite objections from most of the international community.
The expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has made the creation of an autonomous Palestinian state more and more unlikely.
This, in turn, has lessened the possibility of a two-state solution – the state of Israel and a separate state of Palestine – existing side by side in peace.
After the Oslo Accord of 1993 it was agreed that no new such settlements would be built. However, Israel continued to expand the existing ones. And, then from 2017, the building of new settlements started again.
Today, quite apart from the horrific devastation of the civilian population in Gaza, the tension over the West Bank settlements makes peace unlikely.
After Israel’s invasion of Gaza, most countries stood by, paralysed as the horrors unfolded. For instance, the EU struggled to agree a common line.
Ireland was a relatively lone voice in calling for an immediate ceasefire. Others couldn’t use such a word, calling instead for a ‘pause’ in hostilities.
Then, Ireland and Spain broke ranks from the rest of the EU in calling for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, on the basis that Israel may be in breach of its human rights clause.
When Israel alleged that some UNRWA staff working on the ground in Gaza, had participated in the October 7 Hamas attack, several countries that are major contributors paused their UN funding as a consequence.
Ireland continued to fund the UNRWA until hard evidence was provided. Now several countries and entities, such as Australia, Canada, Sweden and the EU, which had stopped funding this lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, have decided to resume it.
Throughout this crisis, Ireland had tried to steer an independent course. Going against the majority view is never easy, regardless of how rash that view has turned out to be.
Ireland has primarily concentrated on the effects of the crisis on the ordinary Palestinian people. It is only in recent weeks that many other nations have caught up on Ireland’s emphasis of the looming famine in Gaza.
The US, hitherto an implacable ally of Israel, is clearly changing its tune as the catastrophe unfolds. President Joe Biden is moving further and further away from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. And US public opinion is hardening against the Israeli offensive.
The US is in the process of drafting a UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The fact that Senator Chuck Schumer, the most senior Jewish politician on Capitol Hill, was scathing of the Israeli government is a clear indication of how America is reassessing its support for what is going on in Gaza.
Alas, for many of the ordinary citizens there, this change in international attitudes is coming tragically too late.
There is an ongoing row over the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Many independent players in this space blame Israel for the slow pace of aid delivery. Biden has taken matters into his own hands by promising maritime corridors to deliver aid. Others say Biden is doing this merely to placate domestic opinion in the US, and that he should demand Israel do much more to allow desperately needed aid into Gaza by road.
While this impasse remains, the potential for famine remains. Countries like Ireland need to use every forum available to put pressure on the players involved.
Ireland has correctly used its ‘soft’ power by encouraging others to focus on the humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding before our eyes.
An important part is our ministers travelling to the ends of the earth on St Patrick’s Day.
I have no doubt that in every briefing document handed by officials to ministers on their travels, there will be a message from our diplomats, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and in our embassies, to explain our position on the Middle East conflict. Hopefully, by doing this, we will help add to the growing pressure for an immediate halt to hostilities in that region.
Conflict
Obviously, much of our lobbying will have taken place in the Oval Office in Washington. While they may have been all smiles for the cameras, you can take it that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was driving home the Irish message to President Biden.
It is a pity the Taoiseach did not echo the passionate plea by former President Mary Robinson, for the US to stop military support of Israel.
However, I can understand why the Taoiseach might not have wanted to ruffle feathers on a day when so much good will was being shown towards us.
Apart from this, Ireland should be shouting from the rooftops about how we know only too well that military means will never sort out divisions between people, that it will only exacerbate and perpetuate a conflict.
Some suggested that we should boycott the White House festivities. As a veteran of many St Patrick’s Days in the Oval Office, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of our access to the US president and his administration. We would be diplomatically shooting ourselves in the foot if we refused to go. If we didn’t go, we’d be only a very small voice in the wilderness.
While the cumulative cost to the Irish taxpayer of our ministerial travel for St Patrick’s Day may seem unwarranted, I can assure you it is a vital component of how we, as a small country, can get our message across.
And especially in the context of the current Middle East crisis, the money we pay out for this will be well spent if our Taoiseach and his ministers, through their lobbying, can hasten an end to this Armageddon.