Minister of State for European Affairs Peter Burke has said that the safety of Irish troops serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon and Syria was of great concern and would be raised by the Taoiseach today at a meeting of the EU Council.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was also working with the Israeli authorities and other leaders in the region about the evacuation of Irish citizens from Gaza, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
“I think it's very important that we do get a humanitarian corridor, there is a number of vulnerable citizens in one region. And when you consider the Gaza Strip is an area not much bigger than Dublin and its suburbs, it's a huge, huge concern that it could be a catastrophic event happening in terms of so many vulnerable people.”
Ireland would be working with the EU to get across a united message, to show that they were working together to ensure that humanitarian corridors are achieved and "key supplies like the Red Cross and like clean water, electricity, all those important utilities are so critical to get into the region.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs had been in contact with a number of people in the region.
“We've asked everyone in the region to register, which is very important, but we are aware that this is a very difficult circumstances. And obviously we will be working with other EU leaders because there are many EU citizens who are in Gaza, and it's important to collectively work together to use our power to try and achieve those humanitarian corridors because they are going to be of critical importance in the weeks ahead.”
"This was what the Irish did best, he said of the Irish troops.
“It's a region where we have a huge presence in terms of our missions to really try and stabilise and do what the Irish state does best, be a voice for peace and de-escalation.
"So we really have their safety to the very forefront of our minds, and that would be key with the Israeli authorities to ensure that their safety is not compromised. And we will be raising that very strongly at the EU Council.”
Ireland had a proud history with regard to the region and had been the first state to advocate for a two state solution, in 1980. This was now European policy “that shows the voice of Ireland's diplomacy how much we can work.”
When asked about President Michael D Higgins’ comments about Ursula Von Der Leyen, Mr Burke said that the president obviously was very outspoken, and he had “a huge value of experience to bring to the table,” but he would not comment on the specific statement.
It was important to work through diplomacy, to work to find solutions to protect the most vulnerable people in the region. That would be the focus in the hours ahead at the EU Council meeting.
“In terms of the orders by the Israeli authorities, telling civilians to move to a very densely populated part of a war torn region, that is totally irresponsible.”
What had happened at the Supernova concert was horrific, but it was important to distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in the region, he said.
While Israel’s right to defend itself had to be acknowledged, they also had to abide by humanitarian law and the rules of war, to ensure that civilians were not collateral damage.
“And that's what Ireland is really good at. We're really good at getting aid into the region. We want to get those humanitarian lines open and support those citizens who are very vulnerable right now," he said.
By Vivienne Clarke
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