Irish premier welcomes that mother of peacekeeper killed in Lebanon can sue UN
Sean Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was killed when a convoy of Irish troops serving with a UN peacekeeping force was ambushed and fired upon on December 14 2022.
The shooting happened near the town of Al-Aqbiya in the south of Lebanon, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Pte Rooney, from the 121 Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces, was killed.
On Tuesday, his mother Natasha was granted permission by the High Court in Dublin to sue the UN.
Asked about the granting of permission to sue the UN, the Taoiseach welcomed developments.
'Natasha Rooney has gone through a terrible trauma in respect of the murder of her son Sean and we await the outcome of the trial in Lebanon,' Mr Martin said.
'We have been very unhappy at the pace in which that trial has taken place, it's been slow, and we're looking for full accountability.
'We believe Hezbollah was primarily responsible for the death of Sean, but of course full accountability and full transparency is owed to the Rooney family, so I welcome developments.'
Natasha Rooney said in a statement that she intends to use all legal avenues available to her to hold those responsible for her son's death to account.
'Sean's case has never been about compensation or money – it is about the truth and accountability,' she said.
'Sean was failed by those who should have protected him. Despite numerous requests, I have still not been provided with the very basic documents from the United Nations from their investigations.
'I intend on using every court procedure available to me to ensure that the truth is told about Sean's death, and that those who failed him are held accountable for their actions and omissions.'
Solicitor for Ms Rooney Darragh Mackin said: 'Our client has been failed time and time again by the very institutions that ought to have protected her son.
'We make no apologies for pursuing every available legal avenue to seek the truth and justice for Private Sean Rooney.'
Pte Rooney's family has pressed the UN to make crucial reports linked to the soldier's death available to his inquest, being conducted by the Dublin District Senior Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane.
The court heard that the UN had carried out reports which had not yet been made available to the inquest. These include an investigation carried out on the ground as well as a subsequent UN board of inquiry report.
The hearing was told there had also been a report 10 months prior to the incident that raised concerns about the integrity of the UN vehicles involved.
However, they were originally told there were issues around disclosing these reports.
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The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Friday briefing: Has the recognition of a Palestinian state gathered an unstoppable pace?
Good morning. It started in the Caribbean: Barbados and Jamaica recognised a Palestinian state in April 2024. Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas followed weeks later, meaning that all Caribbean Community states had recognised Palestine. At the end of May 2024, Ireland, Spain and Norway formally recognised Palestine. Then it spread. Last month, France became the first G7 country to announce it would follow suit, pledging recognition this September. Malta, the UK and Canada have signalled they could do the same, though London and Ottawa attached conditions. Other countries, including Andorra, Australia, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino, have signed a declaration that indicates they may be next. The shrinking number of countries refusing to recognise Palestine has played a significant role in this surge. It's a club few now want to be part of. So too has a landmark ruling from last year's International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel. Not the case examining whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, which will take years to conclude, but the one on the legality of Israel's nearly six-decade-long occupation of the Palestinian territories. To understand how this ruling has galvanised recognition as well as growing calls for boycotts and sanctions against Israel, I spoke to Haroon Siddique, the Guardian's legal affairs correspondent. That's after the headlines. Gaza | At least 91 people have been killed and 600 wounded while waiting for aid in Gaza over the past 24 hours, as the US envoy, Steve Witkoff, visits Israel for ceasefire discussions and to inspect food distribution. NHS | Nine out of 10 nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have rejected their 3.6% pay award and have warned that they could strike later this year unless their salaries are improved. Science | The world's 'oldest baby' has been born in the US from an embryo that was frozen in 1994, it has been reported. 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With the peace process long stalled and illegal settlements in those areas continuing to expand, the situation has hardened into a brutal, prolonged and unresolved impasse. Mainstream Israeli politics includes voices asserting that Israel has a rightful claim to all the occupied territories, and harder-line positions calling for the expulsion of Palestinians have also influenced government policy in recent years, as Benjamin Netanyahu moved further right to retain control of his coalition. In 2022, the Palestinian delegation at the UN asked the general assembly to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ on whether Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories complied with international law, the legality of the settlements, and how other states should respond. The request passed with majority support, Haroon told me. 'The judgment that followed was historic because of how unequivocal and wide-ranging it was.' The question of apartheid This time last year, the ICJ ordered Israel to immediately end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and pay full reparations to Palestinians. The advisory opinion concluded that Israel had violated international law in several ways, including denying Palestinians their inalienable right to self determination and inflicting policies that amounted to apartheid. Perhaps most importantly, the court advised that other states are obliged not to recognise the occupation as lawful and not to aid or assist it. 'It also said Israel needed to make full reparations for wrongful acts and essentially concluded that what Israel was doing violated international law,' Haroon said. 'Some people interpreted the judgment as saying there was apartheid, and to me it seemed explicit. They said settlers and Palestinians are treated differently and that's enshrined in Israeli law and other measures. There is almost complete separation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between Israeli settlers and Palestinian communities,' Haroon said, explaining that the court said Israel was in breach of article 3 of the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD), which condemns racial segregation and apartheid. The court found multiple breaches of international law, including forcible evictions, widespread demolitions, settlement expansion, failure to curb settler violence, restrictions on water access, exploitation of resources, and the extension of Israeli law to the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A clear message to other states There was also a lot in the court's opinion about other states' relations to Israel, Haroon said. 'The court said other states shouldn't render aid or assistance that entrenches the occupation. For example, they shouldn't do trade or economic activity with settlements.' How did the UK respond? During the hearings, the Conservative government argued that the ICJ should not issue an advisory opinion at all. Now, under Labour, the position is even less clear. 'Last year, the Labour government simply said, 'We'll take this in and get back to you,' but they haven't issued any substantial response since. This has caused concern and anger among groups advocating for Palestinians. The only comment the UK government has made is that they don't disagree with the central findings of the advisory opinion. That's vague: it doesn't say what they're doing about it,' Haroon said. He notes that Britain, for instance, does not ban the import of goods produced in Israeli settlements. 'Earlier this year, a group of 62 MPs and peers wrote to the trade secretary saying they should ban those imports, citing the ICJ judgment, but nothing's happened.' Last month, Caabu (the Council for Arab-British Understanding) sent a letter signed by 112 parliamentarians demanding that the UK government publish a response to the ICJ ruling. A separate letter followed from 16 civil society organisations, 'The government said it's a complex ruling, but a year on, it feels like foot-dragging, and it makes people think it's political,' Haroon said. Others have mobilised into action. In April, Ireland unveiled a bill to ban imports from the occupied Palestinian territories in the first move by an EU member to curtail trade in goods produced in Israeli settlements illegal under international law. Ireland based the legality of its move on the ICJ ruling. Israel's response For its part, Israel didn't participate in the case (though it's worth noting they did participate in the genocide case against them). 'Israel later called the opinion 'fundamentally wrong and one-sided,' saying it was trying to push a political settlement on them, but that settlements could only be reached by negotiations,' said Haroon. 'They also submitted a written argument, saying the questions put to the court were prejudiced and failed to recognise Israel's rights and duty to protect its citizens or its security concerns.' The 'Montevideo Convention' So how does the ICJ case relate to recognition of a Palestinian state? 'The court said that the violations, such as the occupation and the settlements, were preventing the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. They said Israel abused its position as an occupying power,' Haroon said. 'I would say the recent French recognition of a Palestinian state is very much in keeping with what this judgment was saying, because it was about ending the occupation. The court said Israel should withdraw immediately. 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BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
cp371jdnnj7o (GIF Image, 1 × 1 pixels)
PSNI Vanessa Whyte and her daughter Sara and son James were fatally shot at their home in Maguiresbridge, County Fermanagh People in County Clare will gather later to pay their respects to a mother and her two children who were murdered in County Fermanagh. Vanessa Whyte, 45, her 14-year-old son James Rutledge and her 13-year-old daughter Sara Rutledge died after being shot in their home in Maguiresbridge.. During a service of removal in the village on Wednesday, the priest, Fr Raymond Donnelly, told mourners the victims had their lives "taken in an unspeakable way". They will lie in repose together in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Ms Whyte's home village of Barefield from 15:00 until 19:00 BST. There will then be a private removal on Saturday morning, with the funeral cortege arriving at the chapel for a funeral Mass beginning at 12:00. Ms Whyte, James and Sara will be buried together in Templemaley Cemetery. On Sunday, people gathered in the County Clare chapel for a prayer service, during which parish priest Fr Tom Fitzpatrick described the killings as an "unspeakable tragedy". Pacemaker A service of removal was held at St Mary's Church in the County Fermanagh village on Wednesday as hundreds turned out in bright colours Emergency services were called to the home of Ms Whyte and her children on the Drummeer Road on 23 July, a rural area about 75 miles (121km) west of Belfast and about eight miles from the county's largest town, Enniskillen. Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene and a third died later that day in South West Acute Hospital. Hours after the attack, police said a man from the same household was in hospital with gunshot wounds. Following the shootings, police said a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for detectives. On Monday night, the man suspected the killings, 43-year-old Ian Rutledge, died in hospital. Detectives investigating the shooting also reiterated their appeal for "anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward".
BreakingNews.ie
7 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Gardaí investigating murder of Fiona Sinnott conclude search
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