Irish President Michael D. Higgins has condemned the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for issuing threats against UN peacekeepers, including Irish personnel, stationed in southern Lebanon.
Speaking on the escalating conflict in the Middle East, President Higgins described the actions as “outrageous” and voiced concerns for the safety of Irish soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
As the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, President Higgins emphasized the anxiety felt by many Irish citizens for the 347 Irish peacekeepers currently deployed in Lebanon. He noted that these soldiers are risking their lives to protect vulnerable civilians in the region.
“It is outrageous that the Israel Defence Forces have threatened this peacekeeping force and sought to have them evacuate the villages they are defending,” said President Higgins, adding that Israel’s demands for UNIFIL’s withdrawal are “an insult to the most important global institution to which 193 members are committed.”
Tánaiste Micháel Martin also expressed grave concern over Israel’s breach of the Blue Line, the boundary separating Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights. This violation, particularly near Irish Battalion posts, has been described as an “unacceptable violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.”
Martin reassured that Irish troops are sheltering in place while continuing to monitor UN resolution breaches. “Morale is good despite the circumstances,” he noted, saying that “constant communication between Camp Shamrock and the outpost” is maintained.
So far, up to 24 Irish citizens have been evacuated from Lebanon as the conflict intensifies. The Tánaiste confirmed he has spoken with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, who shares concerns about the IDF’s actions and stressed the importance of keeping UNIFIL peacekeepers in place.
President Higgins closed by reflecting on the anniversary of the Supernova Sukkot Gathering festival attack in Israel, offering thoughts to those affected while reiterating the need for international peace efforts.
“We must be better than this and do better than we have,” he stated.
They have not been threatened, they have been asked to move out of harms way.
UNFIL, like the lebanese army has been totally useless at keeping Hezzbollah away from the border.
UN troops should not be asked to move by a belligerent.
Agree, Israel can’t tell UN peace keepers to move on. Bit of a thankless token task for Irish troops though. After all the Israeli aggression will there be peace for Israel in the future??? The West and regional powers must insist on 2 state solution.
Insist all we like, but Hamas and Hezzbollah have stated they will never accept the two-state solution, they want all Jewish people and the state of Israel gone from the region and won’t compromise on that. It is that attitude that keeps the flame of war stoked.
Well the present Israeli Govt has a similar attitude. Indeed conservatives had always derailed it back to the 90s.
It was Arafat that rejected the 2 state solution decades ago and he was much more approachable and moderate than Hamas.
The Hamas charter states :
“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will
obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
“[Peace] initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and
international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of
the Islamic Resistance Movement… Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the infidels as arbitrators in the lands of
Islam… There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by
Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a
waste of time, an exercise in futility.”
I have yet to see any equivalent of these statements by Israel.
There’s a view that that the Jihad mindset is being sustained from Tehran. In 2017 Hamas ( as a political party) issued a revised manifesto, a statement on principles and policies. This manifesto contained phrases suggesting some movement away from a hard line Islamist position. “Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. However, without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the… Read more »
So the 1,200 innocent civilians butchered by Hamas on 7th Oct were racist, aggressive, colonial and expansionist Zionists?
Err, I don’t think I said that. At a guess I would think that Hamas could be referring to the the Jewish sects who are forcefully expanding into the West Bank, in contravention of international law.
Hey Paul
My comment wasn’t directed at you but those who penned their so-called manifesto – Hamas.
Thanks David. My mistake then. No worries.
No problem Paul – my apologizes for not being clear to begin with.
Alot of innocent civilians died in that attack, but alot of those quoted figures include Israeli military personnel and deaths from friendly fire also.
That’s the old charter isn’t it?
As it should. a 2 state solution as Gaza shown is just a basing territory to destroy Israel.
Israel have stated they are “no longer” seeking a 2 state solution. After decades, due to the belligerence of the other side they have come to the conclusion it’s a waste of time. That is a bit of a difference between what you are saying.
I agree that UNIFIL exists purely out of mindless inertia. It’s mandate is absolutely pointless and has been so for years. Israel is quite right to simply advise it to get out of the way if it wants to save itself.
So no role for the international community here? Neutral peacekeepers can be ordered about by one of the belligerent parties?
I was a UN peacekeeper in Cyprus and we did a good job. I would have been incensed if the Greek Cypriot government or the North Turkish administration had insisted we move away from an established position, to allow their armed forces to encroach on a UN protected area.
It turns out what has sparked these complaints is that the IDF have set up a FOB adjacent to the UN 6-52 post manned by the Irish Platoon.
The problem is that since 1948 the jewish people have had a homeland they can protect and protect it they will. Prior to that throughout the world the jewish people were simply culled in pogroms for thousands of years whenever the people running the country they were in needed a scapegoat. The Israelis will protect their homeland with their dying breath regardless of the niceties of international law and they will use every weapon at their disposal. I think the Irish UN contingent should withdraw with the aim of returning when the Arab countries are being a little more realistic.
Don’t know Middle East politics but probably good portion of Lebanon dislikes hezzbollah. OK let’s say Israel degrades significantly Hamas and hezzbollah they , Israel, still have to agree to 2 state solution. Leave Gaza as rubble breeding future Hamas fighters.
Not if one of the states can’t constrain itself from committing Pogroms.
Well said in what way will invading Israeli troops do a better job of protecting civilians and noting breaches of UN resolutions. Fact is some in the Israeli Govt and forces prefer them not to be in a position to note any of their breaches and potential attacks on civilians or be killed as they do so only increasing negative World opinion. Some of their behaviour is becoming Putinesque whatever sympathy one might have for their position. Trouble is they have created much of that themselves over years by refusing to discuss, let alone seriously, a two State solution and… Read more »
Explain how the UN force that is there to expel Heezbollah from it accomplished that mission.
I have not seen their Mission statement but I doubt it includes expelling a brutal armed group from the region, thus siding with one side. That is bordering on COIN and is not what neutral peacekeepers do. I have been a UN peacekeeper.
UNFIL has never had that mandated mission.
How well has the peace keeping force been able so stop Hezzbollah lobbing rockets into Israel- or was that not part of their remit- if not why not?
Maybe they would have been better placed in Israel last October protecting those women & children from Hamas.
UNFIL doesn’t have the mandate for Peace Enforcement, just Peace Keeping. As for the October attacks, surely the questions about that lie in the security forces of Israel, not UNFIL.
Whats the difference between peace keeping and peace enforcement exactly other than semantics?
If Hezzbollah were not able to lobb rockets at Israel then it would be a sort of peace wouldn’t it.
If you mean they are not able to stop it – then by the same argument they are not able to stop Israel stopping it for them are they- and as such cannot complain if Israel want to do that.
Similarly if Hamas had been stopped fro commiting those attacks then Israel would have needed to go in and sort Hamas out would they.
Basically Peace Enforcing means being able to use force against any belligerents in order to enforce Peace, Peace Keeping is non Lethal unless the UN forces are threatened (though each nation forces have their own idea there), see the debacles in Bosnia for example. To stop them lobbying rockets you would need a full military COIN campaign, something UNFIL has never been tasked with and something the Security Council has never authorised for UNFIL(not least as that would mean engaging Israeli forces as well if they attacked over the Blue Line like in the Civil War), so complaining that UNFIL… Read more »
Rock and and a hard place Graham…
The UN force in southern Lebanon faces an absolutely thankless task.
The reality of this dreadful situation is that it will only settle down when Iran is pusuaded (or forced) to stop bankrolling terrorist groups.
The reality of course is that Hezbollah and Hamas, are effectively tools of the Iranian state.
Very true John. I have been trying to think of past examples of rogue states or even pressure groups who have desisted from supporting brutal insurgents or terrorists and can’t think of any.
I think Iran will forever support Hezbollah, Houthi and Hamas.
I do support Israel in their never ending war to survive against radical Islam. That said, the US or UK would never in a million years green light the high intensity military operations Israel has undertaken in the heavily populated Gaza strip. The civilian death toll is horrendous and ironically, they are playing right into Irans hands. Iran was the orchestrater of the October 7th attacks, the year of carnage since is probably ‘exactly’ what they hoped for. Israel obviously intends to weald the Hebrew hammer in Southern Lebanon and they don’t want ‘blue beret observation’. The world can’t ignore… Read more »
There is nothing extraordinary in death tool from Gaza operation, except the low number for the attacks announced.
Maybe you can explain the death tool in taking Mosul for ISIL by allied forces for example, an that is a city that was already with much less population than originally.
The civilian death toll in Gaza ‘is’ dreadful, Alex. That’s a simple fact, only a sociopath would claim otherwise.
I made a simple statement, the UK and US wouldn’t undertake these sort of operations today, as the civilian casualties would be unacceptable.
That said, the blood is ‘totally’ on Hamas (Iranian) hands.
Why not?
UN forces have no business supporting a terrorist group.
Good grief, you see the world in black and white Alex!!
They are there as part of a UN mandate. Rights and wrongs aside, they have a mandate to be there Alex.
What does that mandate cover?
I sent a link but its being held for mods, but you can google the mandate fairly easily.
Funny, never heard this level of criticism and outrage when Pte Rooney – an Irish peacekeeper – was killed by Hezbollah in 2022. Let’s not forget that it was Hezbollah who declared war on Israel on 8th Oct. – the day after 1,200 innocents were not just killed – but butchered! Where was the self-righteous objection and protest then? Let me save you from thinking too long for the answer – there was none! Israel never asked for this war but make no mistake – they will finish it! They have decapitated the Hamas and Hezbollah leaderships and the Mullahs… Read more »
Then you might not have been paying attention to the Irish government reaction and engagement with the Lebanese government.
You are entitled to your very strong support for Israel and apparent inability to criticise any aspect of IDF operations in Gaza, Beirut or elsewhere, particularly where it has led to massive civilian casualties.
You mention the death of one Irish peacekeeper by Hezbollah. Of course I would condemn that. Why wouldn’t I?
I roundly condemn all acts of terrorism.
Why do you think no-one thought that the 8th Oct was horrendous and inexcusable? Just about every morally upright Government condemned it and made supportive comments about Israels right to retaliate and protect its citizens.
Telling UN Peacekeepers to move from their allotted task area, IS a threat. If they want them moved, contact the UN!
UN peacekeepers are hardly useless, and I would point out that over 300 UN Peacekeepers have been killed in Lebanon, whilst doing their duty!
Go tell their Governments and families that they are and were useless!!
The Lebanese army, are hezbollah!
The Lebanese Army are not Hezbollah – they are seperate entities,the LA are Politically and Militarily weak so cannot influence the situation as they would like.
So that’s why the lebanese army are fighting alongside hezbollah right now, and indeed have been since day 1 of israel’s ground offensive?
hezbolla run/rule/administer/own lebanon and have done since 1982. That’s a fact jack.
Lebanese citizens who have nothing to do with any of the terrorists are also dying in this, should a nations military do nothing while being invaded? And given Israel warned the Lebanese army before the attack and they withdrew from some areas suggests even Israel doesn’t agree with your statement.
And Israel and its proxies in the Civil War did nothing to try and stop Lebanon’s issues.
UNFIL doesn’t have the mandate for enforcing,just monitoring activity.
What do you call having a MBT pointed at a position at less than 20 feet?
That’s mainly Higgins being Higgins, man couldn’t give a flying feck about the DF at all other times, he’s just ranting.
You are right. He does not care about the DF on account he is a pacifist. I agree with him on other issues he has taken a stance on and I also laugh when he uses all of his powers afforded to him as President to stymie the Dáil. I do disagree with him on his and the govs stance on their criticism of Israel. Ireland has other issues and should not get involved in this problem, which has defied a political solution, for near 100 years. It is not wise.
What “powers to stymie the Daíl”? He doesn’t have any, at most he can send something to the Supreme Court but that’s rarely used. As for agreeing with his positions, just remember he’s now created the precedent that the President can say whatever they want on matters they aren’t meant to discuss. So when it’s not him will you still be happy?
Not too clued up on Irish Politics Mark, is the President supposed to be apolitical??
It’s more that he’s not meant to be making formal statements without approval of the government of the day or commenting on government policies. Higgins has been “stretching” that over his two terms.
Righto, cheers,I see…. He must be pissing the government off then Mark…
From off the record briefings, he very much has been for the last year or so, but there’s not much they can do without provoking a constitutional issue and picking a fight just before a General Election, his term is nearly up so I think they are just going to put up with him and hope he doesn’t get any worse.
Cheers Mark, I suppose the UK equivalent is King Charles constantly counter briefing against the government.
I can see how that would be problematic!
He has not rubber stamped a lot of legislation. He has told the powers that be that he needs time to review it. It’s under his purview. Not too many Irish Presidents have done this.
I actually disagree with him making any political statements and I am aware of this precedent that he has brought That’s not what his office is supposed to do.
He is not a pacifist. He is like Pete Seeger in Songs for John Doe album.
What?!
As the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, Emperor Higgins…🤣
The Irish have a very one-eyed perspective on the Israel-Palestine thing. That’s fine they are welcome to whatever perspective they want. Unfortunately this perspective conflicts with one of the beligerents they are trying to arbitrate between. They are not trusted nor respected by the Israelis since they also lack the military capabillity to impose their will.
In short they are not fit for purpose and would be better off just going home so that they can be nice and safe and it will allow their politicians the ability to have a good moan about it.
An Irish politician criticizes Israel. Why report that? News would be if an Irish politician in one of the most pro-Palestinian and antisemitic countries in the world praised Israel for something. But don’t hold your breath.
“We must be better than this and do better than we have,” he stated.
Yeah, right. Usual flowery prose.
I’ve often wondered just what exactly that UNIFIL detachment is doing. It’s failed to stop Hezbollah from operating with impunity on the Lebanese border, hasn’t stopped one rocket attack, or the infiltration of Iranian militias in that area. Just what peace is it keeping? No wonder the Israelis want it out of the way.
Do you actually know what a UN peacekeeping force does?
They protect the peace, even if it is fragile, by interposition and must be strictly neutral.
Well yes and no. I don’t fully understand how if there’s peace to keep,, armed groups can operate, carry out attacks etc, often in the area the said UN peacekeeping force is based. I get the need to be neutral, but what is the point of that if both sides to the conflict are hammering away at each other? Has the UNIFIL element interposed itself between Israel and Hezbollah ? I’m not aware that it has. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising the efforts of the soldiers sent to serve as peacekeepers, more the political grandstanding of politicians polishing… Read more »
That’s Peace Enforcing, a different mandate to Peace Keeping and something that the UN Security Council hasn’t authorised UNFIL to do. You are literally complaining about them not doing something they aren’t allowed to do.
Well perhaps that’s something that should have been authorised many years ago. If the border regions of Lebanon hadn’t become an operating ground for Iranian proxies and their rockets then maybe we wouldn’t be witnessing the unfolding horror in Lebanon.
Accept nobody on the Security Council has ever wanted UNFIL to be able to do that, if they were to enforce Peace it would have to be equal against all, and Israel has never wanted that in case it prevented them from taking any action they would like, for example back in the Civil War where the IDF and their Proxies openly acted in Lebanon.
In that case, it is their problem – “the fight behind the lines” is not yet being taken seriously enough, they to move to Haifa and go home. (smiley)
The only question is if Irish UNIFIL is there to support Heezbollah.
That’s not even a question, barely even a statement really.
Alex, that is a truly shocking thing to say. The whole purpose of UN peacekeepers is to protect the peace, even if it is fragile, and to be strictly neutral. It is a hard task and a thankless one.
I have been a UN peacekeeper.
More the rambling of a flat-earther, than a question about professional UN serving troops😂
Seems the IDF have set up firing positions adjacent to the UNP 6-52, resulting in formal diplomatic protests from the UN.
UNIFIL seems to have been around forever – but what has it actually achieved. Perhaps someone knows what the UN has actually got for its money.
UN forces have been totally useless in Lebanon sitting back whilst Hezbollah fortified the land south of the Latani river in breech of a UN resolution so why are they still there? Maybe for Ireland to earn some foreign currency.
They don’t have a mandate from the security council to forcibly stop Hezbollah, so what can they do, complain to the P5 members. As for “earn some foreign currency”… what a load of stupidity.
Also it’s not just Dublin that has an issue with this, UNFIL has raised complaints with the IDF for their FOB and UN Headquarters have now raised it at the diplomatic level.
“As the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces”
oh that’s funny, sounds like it came straight out of a comic book. Come to think of it, taking into consideration the Irish Defence Forces it’s probably very apt!
The latest from UNP 6-52 is a photo of a Merkava outside the post aiming at the post.
It’s serious. The Israelis have asked UNIFIL to vacate some of their posts.