Leo Varadkar has said he feels “uncomfortable” about using the word ‘genocide’ to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Yesterday, opposition parties called on the Government to join South Africa in its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
🇵🇸 Ireland’s opposition parties are united in demanding that the Irish government join South Africa’s referral of Israel to the ICJ under the Genocide Convention.
Proud to represent Sinn Féin at @ipsc48 press conference on this issue. 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/dgE9mW23kB— Matt Carthy TD (@mattcarthy) January 9, 2024
In its submission to the court, South Africa described Israeli policy in Gaza as "genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the IDF’s actions constitute genocide.
"No, South Africa, it is not we who have come to perpetrate genocide, it is Hamas,” he said.
"It would murder all of us if it could. In contrast, the IDF [Israeli army] is acting as morally as possible."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously said he has “huge sympathy” for the plight of the Palestinian people and said the EU’s “passive” relationship with Israel was not “sustainable” in the long-term.
Despite this, he said he did not want to label Israel’s actions ‘genocidal’.
“I would be a little bit uncomfortable about accusing Israel, a Jewish State, of genocide given the fact that six million Jews, over half the population of Jews in Europe, were killed,” he said.
“That certainly was a genocide [and] I would just think we have to be a little bit careful about using words like that unless we’re absolutely convinced they’re the appropriate ones.”
October 7th
Mr Netanyahu has vowed to “destroy” Hamas because of its attack on Israel on October 7th last year.
Since then, an estimated 23,000 people in Gaza have been killed by the IDF, according to local officials.
If accurate, it means 1% of the territory’s population have perished since the conflict began.
Main image: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin Castle. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews
