The Israeli government and Israel’s ambassador to Ireland condemned a short statement by Ireland’s new leader.
Simon Harris’s comments about Gaza have been defended as “absolutely clear” after criticism from the Israeli government.
In his inaugural speech in the Dail on Tuesday, the Taoiseach said: “In Gaza, we are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe and we are seeing innocent children, women and men being starved and slaughtered. Sean Fleming, junior minister at Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, said Mr Harris was “absolutely clear” in his speech on Tuesday, and added that the Israeli government’s criticism of Ireland was because of Irish support for the Palestinians.
“Because we’re very strong that we want a ceasefire and we want it immediately, we want food to go through, we want proper discussions in relation to Palestine being a separate state.” He told RTE’s Drivetime programme that while Ireland is militarily neutral, he is not “politically neutral when I see a bomb dropping and children starving”.
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