DUBLIN: Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has expressed his disappointment at the UN Security Council’s failure to intervene to end the Israel-Gaza conflict. Minister Coveney said it was disappointing that a clear joint statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict could not be reached.
Mr. Coveney said Irish diplomats at a meeting in New York on Monday worked hard to find a way to make progress. He said the issue would be discussed at an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers today.
Ireland is currently a member of the UN Security Council.
”For their sake, & for the sake of all Palestinians & Israelis alike, we [Ireland] demand an immediate end to the violence,” Minister Coveney tweeted.
The Foreign Affairs Minister told the Seanad that it was reprehensible that civilians were being injured and killed in Gaza and Israel. “The plight of children is shocking. Over 60 children have been killed in just over a week in this latest escalation,” he said.
“The numbers of Palestinian civilians killed – and a quarter of them children – flies in the face of humanity. It is just not acceptable.” The deaths of Israeli citizens are also unacceptable,” he added. Coveney called on all factions in Gaza to end the attacks on Israel immediately.
Minister also said that Israel’s response was disproportionate. Children and families in Palestine, especially in Gaza, have nowhere to flee the violence. “Unlike their Israeli neighbours, they have no bomb shelters to flee to. They are locked into this tiny piece of land, 25 miles by five miles, densely populated with 2.1 million people who are bombarded night after night,” he said.
Mr. Coveney suggested that the international community should unite to enable all efforts to reach a ceasefire.
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