Ireland is preparing to step up pressure on Israel at international level after a new tender was published to build 1,200 housing units in Palestine, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said.
Minister McEntee accused the Israeli government of advancing the development through the E1 settlement project in the West Bank, warning it would deepen instability and damage prospects for peace.
Her comments came as an Israeli man guarding Jewish settlers who entered a Palestinian village shot dead a teenager, Palestinian officials said.
The same gunman also wounded a 70-year-old man, according to Palestinian officials.
The shooting took place in Sa’ir, an occupied West Bank village, after what the Israeli military described as another round of “unauthorised hikes” by settlers. Palestinians say such incursions into the edges of villages are intended to intimidate residents.
In a statement issued today, Ms McEntee said the E1 settlement project represents a “fundamental threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state and, ultimately, undermines the possibilty of a two-state solution.
She reiterated Ireland’s position that all Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law, and urged Israel’s government to “immediately rescind this tender” and to end “all illegal settlement activity”.
Minister McEntee urged “the occupying power” to “protect the Palestinian population under its control” (File image)
Ms McEntee said: “Recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages and communities, in some cases alongside Israeli Defence Forces, are utterly indefensible.
“They form part of an alarming and escalating pattern of violence by extremist settlers that is terrorising Palestinian communities. There must be accountability for these actions.
“This violence is taking place against the wider backdrop of ever-increasing illegal settlement construction and growing restrictions on the daily lives of Palestinians across the West Bank.
“As the occupying power, Israel has a duty to protect the Palestinian population under its control.”
Ms McEntee also urged Israel to lift restrictions affecting the finances of the Palestinian Authority and to release withheld tax clearance revenues.
She said: “The publication of this tender demands a clear and robust response.
“Ireland has taken action at domestic level and will continue to press for a stronger and more co-ordinated response from the European Union and the wider international community.
“The EU must be prepared to respond decisively to actions that violate international law and further erode the prospects for peace.
“Ireland will continue to advocate for meaningful international action and for a peaceful, secure and prosperous future for Palestinians, Israelis and the wider Middle East.”
A group of foreign ministers — from Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have also condemned Israel’s settlement policies in Palestinian territories, saying they categorically rejected the E1 project.
“The Ministers call for immediate action to halt the “E1″ settlement plan, rescind all measures taken in connection with it, and cease all settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” they said in a joint statement. They described the plan as a “dangerous escalation” that further advanced settlement expansion and annexation of Palestinian lands.
Israeli shoots dead Palestinian teen after settlers enter West Bank village
An Israeli man guarding a group of Jewish settlers who walked onto Palestinian village land today opened fire towards Palestinians who confronted them, killing a 17-year-old and wounding a 70-year-old man, officials said.
The incident in the occupied West Bank village of Sa’ir followed the latest in what the Israeli military describes as “unauthorised hikes” by settlers, who enter the outskirts of villages in what Palestinians view as an act of intimidation.
The Palestinian villagers threw rocks toward the settlers, “who were present in the area without advance authorisation”, the Israeli military said in a statement. Some of the settlers were injured, it added.
“A security official opened fire in the area, and there are Palestinian casualties as a result of the shooting,” the military said.
Palestinian officials said a 17-year-old boy died after being shot in the chest. The condition of the 70-year-old was not immediately clear.
The village of Sa’ir sits near the city of Hebron in a southern West Bank area under Palestinian Authority civil control and where Israelis are generally prohibited from entering.
The West Bank, home to 3m Palestinians and some 500,000 settlers, has seen a rise in settler violence and seizures of land and resources. A siege by settlers of homes in the village of Qusra this week drew international condemnation.
UN bodies and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international law regarding military occupations. Israel disputes this, citing biblical links to the area.
Overnight, in Jenin in the north, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man after raiding his home, Palestinian officials said. The military said soldiers shot him after he tried to stab them. No troops were injured, it added.
Israel PM calls Turkey’s Erdogan ‘antisemitic dictator’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office today branded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator” and said Israel would “continue to act forcefully against Turkey’s attempts to destabilise the region”.
The statement came days after Syria accused Israel of bombing an air base in the country’s north, close to the Turkish border, with Mr Netanyahu later tacitly acknowledging the strike.
Mr Netanyahu had said Turkey was seeking to establish a military presence at the site, a claim Turkey has denied, including any visit to the location.
The exchange also follows Turkey’s announcement on Friday that it had sought an international arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” linked to Israel’s interception of an aid flotilla for Gaza.
“Israel has long been unimpressed by Turkey’s hypocrisy. Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator who massacred Kurds, supports the massacre of the Hamas terrorist organisation, and oppresses his own people,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
It added that Israel would “continue to act forcefully against Turkey’s attempts to destabilise the region and against any threat to its security”.
