The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced this Sunday the closure of its embassy in Dublin, after Ireland announced last week that it would join the South African lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide in Gaza. “Ireland has crossed all red lines in its relationship with Israel,” the new Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, said in a statement, describing the actions and rhetoric used by Ireland as “anti-Semitic.”
“The decision to close the Israeli Embassy in Dublin was taken in view of the extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish Government,” adds the text, which explains that Israel prioritizes bilateral relations with the countries of the world depending on the attitude they adopt towards he.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris regretted the decision announced by Israel and stressed that Irish foreign policy is based “on a commitment to dialogue and the peaceful resolution of disputes.” “Keeping the channels open has never been more important than now, so that we can understand each other’s positions even when we disagree,” Harris said.
The Jewish community of Ireland also expressed its concern this Monday. The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRCI) has declared itself “deeply concerned” about the deterioration of relations between the two countries following the closure of the Israeli embassy in Dublin. “The consular services provided by the embassy are vital for those who maintain ties to family, culture and heritage in Israel. Its loss will provoke many feelings of neglect and grievance,” its president, Maurice Cohen, declared to the Irish public broadcaster RTE.
Last May, Israel withdrew its ambassador in Dublin, after that country recognized Palestine as a State, in a joint declaration in which Spain and Norway also did so, and which provoked retaliation from the Israeli Government and the declaration of new settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
Already in March, Ireland had announced that it would intervene in the ICJ genocide case against Israel, but on December 11, the Irish Foreign Minister, Micheal Martin, said that he had achieved the support of the cabinet and that the intervention would be presented at the end of this month.
In a statement, Ireland’s foreign affairs department said that “in intervening legally in the South African case, Ireland will ask the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide,” as a “very narrow” reading —the statement explained—can favor a culture of impunity.
On December 5, Amnesty International concluded “unequivocally” that Israel “has committed and continues to commit genocide” in Gaza, based on the pattern of behavior of its troops, the “dehumanizing” statements of its leaders and military, the occupation military and the “inhuman blockade” of the territory.
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