Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich has accused Irish President Michael D. Higgins of making "inflammatory" comments and repeating "misinformation" about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
President Michael D. Higgins has addressed the conflict between Hamas and Israel on several occasions and said that Israel had reduced the Geneva Conventions "to tatters" by announcing in advance that it would break international law.
"To announce in advance that you will break international law and to do so on an innocent population, it reduces all the code that was there from Second World War on protection of civilians and it reduces it to tatters," Higgins told reporters last week.
In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Erlich said Higgins' comments amounted to misinformation.
"This is misinformation. Because announcing beforehand – that is not breaking, that is in accordance with international law," Elrich told the Sunday Independent.
"We want to make sure that there are as few civilian casualties as possible. And I think we all have responsibility, especially at this time.
"What he said is legally wrong. And that is my frustration. Because people will listen when the President says it."
A spokesperson for Higgins responded to the comments, stating that there was "nothing to be gained by misrepresenting each other’s position".
The spokesperson said Higgins' comments "related to the breach of international law that attacking civilians as collective punishment represents".
"The President has condemned all of the outrages and killings that have taken place and said that in responding to all of this it is important that international law is observed," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that Higgins has expressed his "revulsions" at the killings carried out by Hamas on October 7, adding that the President has called for the immediate release of all hostages.
Higgins has also been clear that we should be "unequivocal about anti-Semitic expression", the spokesperson added.
Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik defended Higgins' comments and said the Israeli Ambassador's position in Ireland is now "under question", describing Elrich's criticism as "outrageous".
"The President has said nothing more than what [Government] has been saying," Bacik told RTÉ's The Week in Politics.
"She accused him of breaking the law, of saying something that was untrue, and I think her position is now under question," Bacik told the program.
Elrich also questioned Ireland's neutrality in the Sunday Independent interview, stating that there is a feeling in Israel that "there is an unconscious bias against Israel in Ireland".
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan rejected the claim that Ireland is not neutral and said Ireland is standing up for all innocent people affected by the conflict.
Ryan said it is possible to have sympathy for both Israeli and Palestinian victims of the conflict and said Ireland "absolutely condemns Hamas" and sympathizes with the history of the Israeli people.
However, he also added that "doesn't mean you don't also stand up for the Palestinian people".
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