Israel's foreign minister accused Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on Monday of antisemitism as he defended Israel's decision to close its embassy in Dublin over Ireland's policies.
Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and Fine Gael party leader Simon Harris attends a campaign event, ahead of Ireland's general election, in Lucan, near Dublin, Ireland November 28, 2024. Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Israel's foreign minister accused Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on Monday of antisemitism as he defended Israel's decision to close its embassy in Dublin over Ireland's policies.
"There is a difference between criticism - and antisemitism based on the delegitimization and dehumanization of Israel and double standards towards Israel," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement.
He cited Ireland's support for what he called "politicized" proceedings against Israeli leaders by the International Criminal Court as well as Irish support for an action at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide over its campaign in Gaza.
"Last night Ireland's antisemitic Prime Minister Simon Harris said in an interview 'Ireland is not anti-Israel but Ireland is absolutely anti the starvation of children'," Saar said. "Is Israel starving children?"
He said Israel was working to enable humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and prevent civilian casualties while he said Hamas was looting aid and using civilians as human shields.
The decision to close the Israeli embassy in Dublin has highlighted Israel's increasing international isolation over the Gaza war, triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip by Hamas-led gunmen.
Harris has rejected Israel's criticism, called the decision to close the embassy deeply regrettable and said Ireland would always stand up for human rights and international law.
Some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, were killed in the attack and more than 250 abducted as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's campaign in response has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and destroyed large swathes of the enclave.
Reporting by James Mackenzie
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday he had instructed the military to intensify pressure on Hamas after the Palestinian terrorist group this week rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce, instead demanding a deal to end the war in exchange for the release of hostages.
The past few days have unfolded like a geopolitical drama of historic proportions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia long considered untouchable, appears to be teetering on the edge of a seismic shift.
Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.