Motion to expel Israeli ambassador defeated in Dáil vote

Israel's Ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich at the Israeli Embassy in Dublin. Picture date: Tuesday November 7, 2023.

The Government has won a vote on two opposition motions on the Israel-Gaza war.

The Government had brought amendments to both a Sinn Féin motion calling for Israel to be referred to the International Criminal Court and a Social Democrats motion which sought to expel the Israeli ambassador.

The Government's amendment passed by 77 votes to 58, while a vote on the motion being carried as amended passed by 80 votes to 60.

On the Social Democrats' motion, the Government's amendment asked the Dail to "express its deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the death of an estimated 11,000 people, including 5,000 children" and "note that the Prosecutor of the ICC announced the opening of an investigation into the situation in Palestine in March 2021".

The counter motion also expresses alarm that since 7th October: attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians, which were already at a record high this year, have significantly increased.

This amendment passed by 85 votes to 55, with the motion as amended passing by the same margin.

Outside the Dáil where over 2,000 people gathered to protest, chants of "shame on you" could be heard. Protestors had earlier called for a ceasefire and demanded the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.

Earlier during a debate on her motion, the Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns called the EU's response to the war on Gaza "despicable" and its leaders "cowards".

She said that she is normally a supporter of the EU but had been disappointed with the bloc's response on Gaza.

"As recently as Sunday, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs released a statement which could only call for a humanitarian pause of the slaughter – and contained no criticism of Israel for its savagery.

"The official EU position is now that we want a pause in the bombing for a few hours – and then the ethnic cleansing can continue. I reject this statement – The EU leaders who wrote it are cowards and their position is indefensible. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs, in his statement, also urged Israel to exercise maximum restraint.

"Does he watch the news? Does he know what is going on?"

Holly Cairns, TD., leader of the Social Democrats. Photograph Moya Nolan

Ms Cairns said that the international community must act quickly.

"Ireland has long been proud of our reputation as a voice for peace on the international stage, as a country who values human rights and international law, and advocates for nations and people who face oppression. Ireland has not been found wanting when it comes to words of support for the Palestinian people, but in the face of an impending genocide - words are not enough, we must take action now.

"Before it is too late."

Her party colleague Gary Gannon told the Dáil said that the language around human pauses in the fighting was "inhumane". He said that the party "makes no apologies" for the motion because they "stand for consequences", while the party's TD for Dublin Bay North Cian O'Callaghan condemned the rise in antisemitism and islamophobia in the wake of the violence in Gaza.

Speaking for the Government, junior justice minister James Browne said that Ireland has "called clearly" on all sides to abide by international law. He said that he believed the Social Democrats motion was a representation of concerns across the Dáil but said that expelling Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich would push Ireland to the "edges of the international community".

Mr Browne said that referring the case to the International Criminal Court would not achieve anything because an investigation is ongoing and that the government was concerned about appearing to politicise the court.

He said that this situation was "fundamentally different" to that in Ukraine because in that case, Ukraine was not signed up to the court. He said that the Government's countermotion was "firmly in line with international law" and was pushing to get all sides back to the negotiating table.