Israel shuts Ireland embassy

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement on Sunday that the country's Dublin embassy would be closed, citing the "actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel."

Ireland has also been among the foremost European critics of Israel's response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that sparked the country's war against Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas-led militants, classified as a terrorist organization by many countries, including Israel, Germany and the US, abducted some 250 people in the October 7 attacks, in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed almost 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction across the besieged territory.

What Israel said about the decision

Israel cited the Irish government's decision to recognize Palestinian statehood as one reason for the embassy's closure, as well as its intervention in an international genocide case against Israel.

"It should be noted that in the past, Israel's ambassador to Dublin was recalled following Ireland's unilateral decision to recognize a 'Palestinian state.'

"Last week, Ireland announced its support for South Africa's legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of 'genocide,'" Saar's statement said.

"The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards," the foreign minister added. "Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel."

Saar said Israel would divert resources to invest in its relations with other countries, and on Sunday announced the opening of an embassy in Moldova.

This year Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Norway all formally recognised Palestinian statehood.

Ireland on Wednesday said it would file an intervention at the UN's top court in The Hague later this month, after government approval of the measure on Wednesday.

The Irish Foreign Ministry said it was asking the ICJ to "broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state."

How has Dublin responded?

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris described the move from the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "deeply regrettable decision."

"I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel. Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-International law," Ireland's leader wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law. Nothing will distract from that."

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said there were no plans for Ireland to close its embassy in Israel, adding that it was carrying out important work.

"Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations," said Martin. "Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points."

Israel's Dublin embassy has been a focal point for both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests since October 7, 2023

rc/jcg (AFP, Reuters, dpa)