DUBLIN — Israel is closing its embassy in Dublin in protest against Ireland’s decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood and to accuse the Israelis of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who confirmed the embassy closure in a statement Sunday, condemned Ireland for what he called its “extreme anti-Israel policies.”
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris — who recently said his country would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he set foot in Ireland — called Israel’s move “deeply regrettable” and rejected its criticisms.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin — who is widely expected to succeed Harris as prime minister once post-election negotiations on forming a new coalition government conclude — said Ireland would maintain its own embassy in Israel to ensure that diplomatic channels stay open.
“The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law. It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Martin said.
Israel’s move follows a steady downward spiral in relations with Ireland, which has a history of expressing sympathy for the Palestinian cause.
Ireland was the last member of the European Union to open an embassy in Israel, in 1996, the same year that Israel opened its embassy in Dublin.
Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, left the country in May after the Irish joined Norway and Spain in formally recognizing Palestine as a state. Last month, the Palestinian Authority’s mission in Dublin received full embassy status as Ireland appointed its first ambassador to Palestine.
Tensions also have risen over Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon as part of its assault on Hezbollah, an operation that has threatened United Nations peacekeepers there, among them an Irish army battalion.
The final straw for Israel appears to have been the Irish Cabinet’s decision last week to get more involved in South Africa’s year-old case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Following that Cabinet meeting, Martin said Ireland would ask the court “to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state. We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized.”
In Israel, Sa’ar sparred on social media with the Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, over the wisdom of the move to shut the Dublin embassy.
“The decision to close the Israeli embassy in Ireland is a victory for anti-Semitism and anti-Israel organizations,” Lapid argued. “The way to deal with criticism is not to run away, but to stay and fight!”
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