International community condemns Israeli attacks on peacekeepers

DUBLIN: Ireland became the latest nation to condemn Israel on Friday, for the attacks on peacekeepers taking part in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission.

Ireland’s Taoiseach, Simon Harris, released a statement on Friday urging Israel to stop firing on United Nations peacekeepers.

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon stated that its headquarters in Naqoura was hit by explosions twice in 48 hours, injuring two Sri Lankan peacekeepers. A day earlier, an Israeli tank fired on a UN watchtower, injuring two Indonesian soldiers.

A UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL) statement said that “any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”

Israeli troops fire at 3 UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military responded by saying it would be reviewing the incident where peacekeepers were “inadvertently” hurt.

Ireland currently has 347 soldiers dispatched in Lebanon as part of the UNFIL mission. Harris stated that “Israel must listen to the voice and the concerns of the international community.”

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

France, Italy and Spain also all condemned Israel for targeting the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

The French President Emmanuel Macron didn’t agree with Israel’s account of the incident, in which they said peacekeepers were “inadvertently hurt”, calling their actions “deliberate targeting” of UNIFIL soldiers.

“We condemn it, we do not tolerate it and we do not tolerate it happening again,” Macron said.  

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni expressed her governments support for the Italian military taking part in the UNIFIL mission, stating “Italians continue to provide valuable work for the stabilisation of the area, in adherence to the UN mandate.”

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The Italian defence minister, Guido Crosetto said that the attacks were “totally unacceptable,” adding that the hostile acts “could constitute war crimes.”

A statement from the Spanish Foreign Ministry said “the government strongly condemns Israel’s new assault on the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, which has caused further injuries among peacekeeping personnel.

The Spanish government urged Israel to “immediately cease its attacks,” with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez saying “let me at this point criticise and condemn the attacks that the Israeli armed forces are carrying out on the United Nations mission in Lebanon.”