Israel’s war in Gaza has been beyond self-defence: Irish Minister Simon Coveney

Simon Coveney called for greater commercial ties between India and Ireland but also argued forcefully for bringing the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine to an end.

The number of civilian injuries, fatalities and human misery under Israel’s campaign in Gaza is “shocking “ and “breaches of international law” by Israel will be called out, said Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney who called upon the international community to support humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians. Speaking at a media round table in New Delhi on March 15, Mr. Coveney called for greater commercial ties between India and Ireland but also argued forcefully for bringing the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine to an end.

“Ireland strongly condemns the terrorist attack that happened when Hamas attacked many Israeli citizens on seventh of October…Since then in the context of Israel’s response, we have also been very vocal as we believe that the war in Gaza has been beyond self defence and the number of civilian injuries and fatalities are shocking. More than 30,000 people are dead, many of them children and women. While Israel has the right to defend itself, there are rules to war and international law that democratic states like Israel have to consider,” said Mr. Coveney pitching for ceasefire in Gaza.

Mr. Coveney, who is leading an Irish delegation to India on a seven-day trade mission between 11 and 18 March expressed Ireland’s support for a two-state solution to establish lasting peace in the region and said, “The Irish people people have a strong view on the peace process.” Mr. Coveney who had earlier served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade spoke of his past personal visits to Gaza Strip and said unlike in other war zones, civilians of Gaza Strip have no where to flee as Gaza is a densely populated area holding 2 million people. He urged the international community to address the existing disease and starvation in Gaza and said the children of Gaza need “extensive psychological support” because of the suffering that they have undergone under Israeli bombing.

“Ireland wants positive relationship with Israel but we will call out breaches of international law. We also believe Israeli hostages need to be released,” said Mr. Coveney.

The main focus of Mr. Coveney’s current India visit is to intensify Ireland-India trade relation and in this context he highlighted Ireland’s capacities in the fields of agriculture, pharma, cyber security and fintech. He also pitched his country as the “only English-speaking country in the European Union after Brexit” and said “Ireland is India’s friend in Europe.” He said the membership of the EU helped Irish peace process of the 1990s. He described the Brexit of the U.K. as a “disruptor” and that Ireland “never really understood the economic reason” behind that move that took out the U.K. from the EU. He however presented the post-Brexit scenario in an optimistic way and said, Ireland’s trade diversified after Brexit and though Britain’s exit from the EU created “significant political challenge” for Ireland too.  He also pointed out that the Russian campaign in Ukraine has brought the U.K. and EU closer and said the war in Ukraine is not a problem exclusively for Europe and that it poses a clear threat to the world at large.

Ireland has opened many new embassies across the world after the U.K. left the EU on 1 February 2020. Sources informed that apart from commercial exchanges, Ireland is also focused on increasing its diplomatic staff strength in its missions in Delhi and Mumbai. The minister presented Ireland as a major producer of food and sought greater access to the Indian market for Irish agricultural products.