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First group of Palestinian detainees released by Israeli authorities under ceasefire agreement | Israel Sets the West Bank Ablaze: Military Blockades, Raids, and Settler Attacks Amid Global Silence | More than 100,000 demonstrate in London despite obstructionist UK police tactics | In violation of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces open fire at Gaza beach | Special Report: Pregnant in Gaza: Survival Amid War, Hunger, and a Collapsing Health System | Gaza Women Face Unimaginable Challenges Amid War and Displacement | Tower Hamlets Council Commits to Divestment from Companies Linked to Israeli War Crimes | Introducing Jafra Production’s Second Cycle of NEST - Music Incubator Program | "Amid Ceasefire, Gaza’s Women Face Unimaginable Loss and the Struggle to Rebuild Lives" | OCHA: Gaza children have been killed, starved and frozen to death | Palestinian Refugees in West Bank Camps Reaffirm Support for UNRWA Amid Israeli Threats | Presidency strongly rejects and condemns any projects or plans aimed at displacing Palestinian people from Gaza | US Senator Bernie Sanders condemns Trump's Gaza remarks as a war crime and ethnic cleansing | EU voices concern over Israeli escalating violence in West Bank | From Caves to Conflict: Masafer Yatta Residents Face Rising Settler and Military Pressure | UN chief calls for immediate evacuation of 2,500 children from Gaza for medical treatment | Trade Unions Demand Independent Inquiry into Police Handling of Pro-Palestine Protest | EU Border Mission Redeploys to Rafah Crossing to Support Ceasefire Implementation | West Bank on the Brink: International Silence Amid Worsening Israeli Aggression, Al-Ahram Weekly Report Say | Palestinian youth killed, others injured by Israeli gunfire during raid on refugee camp north of Hebron |  

Irish president accuses Israel of 'gross defamation' and 'slander'.

Posted On: 19-12-2024 | Politics , National News
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Dublin /PNN / Roddy Keenan

President Michael D Higgins of Ireland has described the Israeli government's accusations of antisemitism against the Irish people as a 'deep slander.' 

President Higgins was responding to Israel's claims that Ireland was guilty of 'antisemitic rhetoric' and the Israeli government's decision to close it's embassy in Dublin. 

The relationship between the two governments has been strained in recent months, particularly since Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, officially recognised the State of Palestine in May 2024.

However, Ireland's announcement last week that it would be supporting South Africa's case against the Israeli apartheid regime at the International Court of Justice appears to have the triggered Israel's latest reaction. On December 11th, the Dublin government said it would formally join South Africa's genocide case and would be asking the Court to 'broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State'.

Responding to Israel's latest accusations, President Higgins slammed them as 'gross defamation' and 'slander'.

It is a very serious business to brand a people as antisemitic because they disagree with Prime Minister Netanyahu,' the president declared, adding that the Israeli prime minister was ‘in breach of so many bits of international law and has breached the sovereignty of three of his neighbours.’

President Higgins also made it clear that Ireland ‘cannot be knocked off  our principle of support for international law.’

The president was speaking at a ceremony in Dublin marking the appointment of the Ambassador of the State of Palestine, Dr Jilan Abdalmajid. Describing the event as 'historic', the president assured the ambassador that Ireland would 'not be deflected' from its support of the Palestinian people. 

'Over the years, I think it is the Irish psyche that we understand the words 'dispossession', 'occupation' and so on,' said President Higgins, referencing Ireland's own historical experience of settler-colonialist oppression, one that is shared with the people of Palestine. 

'That is why we stress the importance of international law and particularly in relation to the rights and obligations of those who are in occupation on what is occupied territory,' the president declared.

Dr Abdalmajid said she was honoured to become the Palestinian ambassador and stated that Palestine and Ireland were bound together by friendship and co-operation.

'I take this opportunity to express our people’s and our leadership’s deep appreciation for the honourable stance of Ireland and its leadership in supporting the legitimate rights of our people in self-determination and in our quest for freedom and independence,' Dr Abdalmajid said, before thanking President Higgins in the Irish language.

 

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