On Sunday, December 15, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced in a statement that Israel was set to close its embassy in Dublin. Israel invokes “ extreme anti-Israeli policies » attributed to Ireland, the Israeli government believing that the country has “ crossed all the red lines “.
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“ Ireland’s anti-Semitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, as well as double standards. Ireland has crossed all the red lines in its relations with Israel », Said the head of Israeli diplomacy, Gideon Saar, according to this press release. Evidence of further deterioration in diplomatic relations between Israel and theIreland.
It’s a decision deeply regrettable », Reacted the Irish Prime Minister. Simon Harris said on categorically reject the claim that Ireland is anti-Israeli “. He adds, however, that “ Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law “.
The closure of the embassy comes after Ireland’s decision, on December 11, to support South Africa’s legal action against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), recalls our correspondent in Dublin , Clemence Pénard.
The ICJ accuses Israel of “genocide” in the Gaza Strip where the country has been at war against Hamas since October 7, 2023, the day of the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil.
Israel says it wants to adjust its “network of diplomatic missions”
Last November, Simon Harris announced that Benyamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he went to Ireland, following the issuance of a arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court. And last May, Ireland recognized the Palestinian state, alongside from Norway and Spain. The Israeli ambassador in Dublin was then immediately recalled to Israel.
In his press release, the head of Israeli diplomacy said he wanted to focus on other countries, mentioning the opening of a new embassy in Moldova. It highlights the relationships “ friendly » between the two countries as well as the need to “ develop and deepen them “.
“ We will adjust Israel’s network of diplomatic missions taking into account, among other things, the positions and actions of different countries towards Israel in the diplomatic sphere “, he added.
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