Good guys versus bad guys is wrong way to look at the conflict in Middle East

The Irish people have many reasons for being sympathetic to both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Especially in these exceptionally fraught times there are, of course, many who would have the Irish Government simply pick sides, as if it were as simple as supporting a football team. When emotions are running so high “the good guys” versus “the bad guys” is a tempting narrative. However, the reality is necessarily far more complex. Moreover, any prospect for finding a way forward beyond the present conflict is, therefore, likewise complex.

Ireland’s perspective on the world is shaped by our history and our experience as a nation. There are those, on the one hand, who argue that our history requires us to side with Israel. On the other hand we are told that our history dictates that we should support the Palestinians. But true history is never a simplistic narrative. If Ireland’s history has one central message about the tragedy unfolding in the Middle East it is that we should seek to understand both sides.

Yes, we in Ireland should be sympathetic to Israel, a small nation that has had to struggle for its nationhood and independence, surrounded by larger neighbours. That sympathy, already great, is further reinforced by our knowledge of the genocide in Europe out of which the Israeli state was born. As a country, and on an island, that has experienced the savagery and mindlessness of terrorism in modern times, we in Ireland can understand something of the strength of feeling in Israel against Hamas and similar organisations.

That international empathy has naturally been greatly deepened by the butchery we witnessed in recent days, including the kidnapping of civilians, men, women and children. We can also admire Israeli democracy – notwithstanding the recent efforts of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu to undermine it and even if we do not support everything done in its name.

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Both individually and as a Member State of the EU, we should continue to assert the legitimate rights of both the Israelis and Palestinians. We should oppose, as we do, both terrorism and injustice

And, yes, our history and national perspective tell us that we in Ireland must also be sympathetic to the Palestinians and to their legitimate aspirations. The Palestinians, who were not responsible for the Holocaust, have suffered deprivation and violence for many decades, both in the West Bank and Gaza. They have been denied their right, equal to that of Israelis, to nationhood and independence. They have been disregarded and dispossessed, as we Irish were for so long.

Most glaring has been the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinian land over which Israel has no political, historical, legal or any other rights. The various plantations in Ireland, however distant in our past, cannot but give us some insight into the depth of Palestinian feelings. It is understandable that some draw a contrast between the strong and appropriate opposition to Putin’s attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory and the relative silence about what has been happening in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Not all of the suffering of the Palestinians can be laid at the door of Israel. The great powers shaped today’s Middle East and laid the groundwork for the present mess. The international community has at best been halfhearted in its practical support for the only solution with any prospect of success, namely a “two state” solution.

If anything the international community has allowed pressure on Israel for progress in that regard to go off the boil. Many Arab governments, often at odds with their own people, have contributed to allowing the Palestinian situation simply to simmer and fester.

Both Israelis and Palestinians, from their different perspectives, would like Ireland to be more trenchant in our support. However, the Irish Government’s position, which seeks to take account of the complexities of the situation, and the legitimate aspirations of both sides, remains broadly sensible and appropriate. Both individually and as a member state of the EU, we should continue to assert the legitimate rights of both the Israelis and Palestinians. We should oppose, as we do, both terrorism and injustice. We should seek to focus attention, beyond the immediate headlines, on underlying causes.

We should continue to place particular emphasis on the protection of all civilians, and condemn with particular force all actions by both sides that kill, injure or cause them serious harm. The Irish Government was absolutely right, and quick off the mark, to challenge the maverick EU commissioner who appeared to have done a solo run in announcing the cutting off of all EU aid to Palestinian civilians.

In a world in which we are increasingly encouraged by populists and social media to “take sides”, this article may annoy more people than it will satisfy. However, we would do well, all of us in Ireland and elsewhere, to value what Wilfred Owen, in one of his first World War poems, called “the eternal reciprocity of tears”.

• Bobby McDonagh is a former ambassador to London, Rome and Brussels