When Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, recognised the state of Palestine last May, Israel called in the Irish ambassador for what it called “a severe reprimand”. It was made clear that matters would not rest there, and Israel has now followed up by announcing the closure of its Dublin embassy. Foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Ireland of “anti-Semitic actions and rhetoric … based on delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state and on double standards”.
Ireland, which has traditionally maintained diplomatic relations with states rather than governments, is reluctant to open or close missions in response to shifts in a country’s politics. It is a stance that has often caused internal controversy, and Dublin will rightly not now be reciprocating by closing its Tel Aviv embassy.
Israel has long branded Ireland as hostile - and has stepped up its rhetoric after the embassy closure. It has claimed Ireland’s support for Palestinian rights was legitimisation of terrorism. It is particularly aggrieved by Ireland’s recognition of Palestine – along with 146 of the 193 member states of the United Nations – and by the State’s willingness to intervene at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africa’s case against Israel under the Genocide Convention.
While Israel has presented the latter as support for branding it as genocidal, Ireland and the 12 other states who are filing interventions, including France and Germany, are not explicitly backing South Africa but looking for clarifications of the treaty definition of genocide.
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Ireland’s concern, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs, is that some states’ narrow interpretation of genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised. Ireland’s interpretation of the convention is broader and prioritises the protection of civilian life. It is an interpretation, nevertheless, that will not cast Israel in a good light.
Israel’s move against Ireland is part of a broader campaign to undermine the UN court and minimise the significance of its historic July ruling that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful. It ordered Israel to end its occupation, dismantle settlements and provide full reparations to Palestinian victims, a ruling that won overwhelming backing, including from 13 EU states, at the September UN general assembly.
In November, the Government said it would respect an ICJ arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and has pledged to back legislation banning trade in goods produced in the West Bank in line with an obligation cited by the ICJ “to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Israel is already getting in its retaliation.