Tánaiste Micheál Martin has called on Israel to rescind an order for citizens to evacuate Gaza, saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”.
It comes after the United Nations (UN) said it was told by the Israeli military that the approximately 1.1 million people in northern Gaza “should relocate to southern Gaza” within 24 hours, a move described by the international body’s humanitarian office as “impossible”.
Speaking at an event in Co Cork, Micheál Martin said: “We’re all witnessing the horrific outcome of the Hamas attack on Israel and random and indiscriminate murder of Israelis.”
Mr Martin noted the funeral of 22-year-old Irish-Israeli citizen Kim Damti, who died after an attack on a music festival near the Gaza border, as well as the “harrowing” account of Thomas Hand, who said his eight-year-old daughter Emily died following Hamas attacks on the Beeri Kibbutz.
He said: “The human suffering here is quite shocking and we’re now seeing the outcome of that violence in terms of terribly sad funerals and bereavement and confirmation of deaths.
“In respect of Israel and Gaza, we’ve been very clear that Israel has a right to self-defence but it must be within international law and that there are obligations under the Geneva Convention.
“It simply isn’t feasible that a million people can move out of the city in 24 hours.
“That call by Israel should be rescinded and should be pulled back because I think everybody knows it’s not something that can be achieved at all and I think it puts enormous trauma on the ordinary civilians and Gazans.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right and there’s an obligation to protect civilians in Gaza, to protect children and families and so forth and people who have nothing to do with Hamas.”
“There are challenges and I would accept that Israel has a legitimate right to deal with Hamas because Hamas has waged war on its civilians but it cannot be in the context of an attack on the civilian population of Gaza.
“Our value system is one that does not in any way support any collective punishment of an entire population. That’s not acceptable from our perspective.”
Mr Martin is working with the UN and European colleagues on establishing humanitarian corridors.
“It’s now essential that significant amounts of humanitarian aid needs to get into Gaza into the hospitals there and also in terms of supporting children and families,” he said.
Asked about suggestions from some commentators that Ireland is inherently antisemetic, Mr Martin rejected the characterisation.
He said: “Ireland has a strong reputation globally in respect of its adherence to human rights. We’re subscribed to all of the antisemitic conventions and we work with others to root out antisemitism.
“And we have a Jewish community in Ireland that we cherish and our constitution cherishes the Jewish tradition within Ireland also.
“And I think we have to separate that from legitimate criticism, from time to time, in terms of Israeli government policy towards the Palestinian question.
“And in democracies there’s always room for legitimate debate but in respect of the Hamas attack on Israeli citizens, there can be no equivocation and no reservations in condemning the brutality, the barbarity of that attack.
“Also, there can be no sort of connection between that and the broader question of Palestine, and any attempts to connect the two, I think are wrong.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has also said Israel is engaging in collective punishment and does not have the right to breach international law in its response in Gaza.
On Thursday, he said: “Israel is under threat. They do have a right to defend themselves but they don’t have the right to breach international humanitarian law.
“And I’m really concerned about what I’m seeing happening in Gaza at the moment.
“To me, it amounts to collective punishment. Cutting off power, cutting off fuel supplies and water supplies, that’s not the way a respectable democratic state should conduct itself.”
