Tánaiste accuses Israeli PM of undermining UN

The deputy leader of the Irish government has accused Benjamin Netanyahu of undermining the United Nations.

Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin was reacting to the Israeli prime minister's call for peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) to withdraw from areas in the south of the country.

Irish Defence Force peacekeepers have been in Lebanon since 1978, with over 30,000 troops passing through the region in that time.

Most are located in a base called Camp Shamrock.

In recent days, Irish troops refused to leave their post near the border with Lebanon despite orders from Israel.

The tánaiste is attending a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

The Fianna Fáil party leader said that the Israeli prime minister ”is essentially now undermining the United Nations and the United Nations peacekeeping force, and the very rules-based international order, and he needs to step back".

"The international community needs to be very clear, and my colleagues at the European Council need to be very clear about the primacy of the international rules-based order," Martin added.

"The United Nations is at the heart of that, and United Nations peacekeepers are at the heart of that."

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon said Israeli tanks forced their way into one of its positions early on Sunday morning.

It said rounds were fired nearby that saw smoke enter the camp, causing 15 peacekeepers to suffer skin irritations and gastrointestinal reactions.

The IDF offered a different version of events, saying it had encroached on a Unifil position to evacuate soldiers who had been wounded by an anti-tank missile.

Prior to Sunday's incidents, five peacekeepers had been injured in recent days.

No Irish troops have been injured.

Following international criticism about attacks on Unifl personnel and bases, Mr Netanyahu said in a video message yesterday evening: "We regret the harm to Unifl soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm."

"But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone."

Martin accused Israel of attempting to "drive the eyes and ears out of south Lebanon and to give itself free rein" by attacking Unifl peacekeeping positions.

"We cannot have an undermining and a chipping away of the status or the credibility or structures of the United Nations and particularly its peacekeeping forces," he said.

The Israel Defence Forces has denied targeting UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon and defended orders for them to withdraw from combat areas.

Speaking to the BBC's Newshour programme about Unifil, the IDF's International Spokesperson Peter Lerner said: "We've asked. They decided to stay. And there are dangers in staying in a combat zone.

He went on to say that Hezbollah has established a combat zone "within the realm of the responsibility of Unifil".

"So if you expect us not to take those out, because Unifil will say we don't want to evacuate.

"We'll say we will push forward. We will fulfil our military goals.

"Unifil is definitely not the enemy. We suggest they evacuate for their own safety," he added.

Martin referred to IDF attacks in northern Gaza, including hitting a school sheltering displaced people and called for an EU or international team to be allowed into Gaza to monitor what was happening.

"What's happening in the most recent days in northern Gaza is quite shocking in terms of the mass expulsion of people...and the death and destruction of innocent people," he said.

"That is not acceptable or morally tolerable anymore. Quite a number of our EU member states really need to stand up now on the side of what's right and proper and moral in terms of humanity.

"I'm surprised that some EU colleague states have not been as forceful or as strong in supporting UN peacekeeping troops as they could be.

"The statement we've issued is welcome, but I think the statement the EU is issuing on this matter could be far stronger."

During a phone call on Monday with Israeli President Isaac, Taoiseach Simon Harris expressed the “paramount” importance of the security of Irish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

An Irish government statement said Harris made it clear that the “deliberate firing” at UNIFIL posts is an “unacceptable breach of international law”.

“UNIFIL serves on behalf of the international community, with a clear mandate from the Security Council, and that it must be allowed to carry out its functions unimpeded,” he added.

Harris has called for an immediate ceasefire which will allow people to return to their homes.