Ireland fighting a war of words over stance on Israeli actions
'Dublin for Gaza' protesters at the EU Commission offices in Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins
When the vote on a motion, which condemned Hamas and called for Israel to rescind its order for a million civilians to move south in the face of a ground offensive, passed after 11pm on Wednesday, there was a sense that for all the widespread unity in the chamber, the Irish political response to renewed violence in the region remains complex.
The vote followed three and a half hours of statements and a full day of wrangling over the wording of the motion, with opposition TDs keen to support the motion, but also wanting to add an outright condemnation of Israel’s actions.
What was presented to the Dáil by the Government “expresses its alarm and deep concern at the rising death toll and displacement of civilians and acute humanitarian needs in Gaza”; it “stresses the
universal applicability of international law and international humanitarian law”; and “expresses its deep concern at the increase in
violence in the West Bank, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians”.
It did not expressly say the actions of Israel are wrong.
The opposition offered up seven amendments, with Sinn Féin looking to add lines that “unreservedly condemn Israel’s brutal assault on the civilian population of Gaza”, and condemn the forced displacement of Palestinians and shutting-off of power and water.
Independents Catherine Connolly, Thomas Pringle, and Joan Collins wanted to add that Ireland “unreservedly condemns the disproportionate response and the contravention of international law by Israel”, while Labour wanted to condemn the “indiscriminate bombing of residential areas in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces”.
Labour also wanted to condemn the actions of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who pledged European support to Israel.
People Before Profit wanted to replace the entire motion, bar the first three words, “That Dáil Éireann”.
The Social Democrats asked for the following to be added: “[Dáil Éireann] condemns the tactics of the Israeli government — cutting off water, food, electricity, and food supplies — which constitute collective punishment of an innocent and helpless civilian population; and condemns the relentless bombing of residential buildings in Gaza, which constitutes war crimes.”
After a day of phone calls, the Government’s motion would not contain an outright condemnation of Israel.
While the rain began to pour down, a short-notice protest took place outside the gates of Leinster House. A few hundred braved the weather to show their support for Palestine and those blockaded in Gaza.
Inside the chamber, People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy gave the most strident criticism of the Government’s stance. Mr Murphy went further than any opposition politician in his support of Palestine.
“They have the right to rise up against occupation,” he said. “They have the right to engage in a general strike against the occupation, as happened today in the West Bank, and they have the right to armed resistance — not armed resistance targeting civilians, of course, but armed resistance against the Israeli Defence Forces, in particular in the coming threatened ground invasion.”
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said the decision by Éamon de Valera to send condolences to Germany on the death of Hitler should act as an example to the Government.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin, however, said he had been in contact with leaders in the UN, UAE, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan and laid out Irish support for Gaza, announcing €13m in new funding.
His message, though not enunciated, was clear: This is a situation with interests across the globe at play and Ireland’s focus is on the
humanitarian end. “If there was a time to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process, it is now,” he said.
“That may seem impossible but there is no choice.
“Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace, security, and dignity.
“Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty are absolutely legitimate and must be taken forward. There is no other way to solve this conflict.”
Between votes, Sinn Féin TDs were sanguine about the prospects of their amendments being defeated. They knew the Government was not for moving, but wanted to send as strong a message as possible.
But the Social Democrats were also not for moving.
Leader Holly Cairns tweeted that without a condemnation, they would not support the motion, standing alongside People Before Profit, Mr Pringle, Ms Collins, Ms Connolly, and Michael Fitzmaurice as the vastly outnumbered dissenters in a gesture that surprised some, given that the motion is a token measure.
All of this comes against a backdrop of many years of Israeli sentiment that Ireland is uniquely pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli, a characterisation which many in Government reject, but are sensitive to.
In the Dáil, Mary Lou McDonald said Ireland had “known all too well the pain and tragedy of colonisation, occupation, and dispossession” and that we understand “the playbook of the coloniser, the occupier and the oppressor”.
Outside the building, the rain continued to hammer down, as 2,500 miles away, the real fighting continued.
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