Claims Ireland is anti-Semitic 'defamatory and untrue'- Senator McDowell
The US Ambassador to Israel, Mick Huckabee, launched a scathing attack against the Irish Government for progressing the Occupied Territories Bill. The bill would prohibit trade between the State and Israel's illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Mr Huckabee called the bill, which was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black, 'so stupid' and asked if it could be attributed to an act of 'diplomatic intoxication'. Taking to X, he wrote: 'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to an act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland!'
He then asked Ireland to call the Israel Foreign Ministry to 'say sorry'. This comes as former minister for justice Alan Shatter heavily criticised the bill as it was given consideration at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
As a member of the Ireland Israel Alliance, the former Fine Gael TD repeatedly referred to the bill as a 'Father Ted' measure. He also compared it to how the Jews were targeted during the Second World War.
In the Seanad yesterday, Senator McDowell said claims that Ireland, its Government, or its Houses of Parliament were motivated by, or amounted, to anti-Semitism 'were grossly defamatory and untrue'.
He added: 'Our position on Gaza is shared by many Israeli Jews, including a former Israeli Prime Minister. It is simply defamatory and untrue to assert that Ireland's position on Gaza and recognition of the Palestinian state was motivated by anti-Semitism or hatred of Jews.'
Many US politicians have been highly critical of the bill in recent days, including Republic senator Lindsey Graham. He said: 'I hope that Ireland will reconsider their efforts to economically isolate Israel, as they are in a fight for their very existence.
'I do not believe these efforts would be well received in the United States and they certainly would not go unnoticed.' Republican congressman Pete Stauber said Ireland 'must reconsider' the Occupied Territories bill.
Taking to X, he wrote: 'Ireland is making a serious mistake. Banning the import of goods from Israeli businesses operating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is not only antisemitic, but it also has serious ramifications for American businesses.'
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
32 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Dozens killed while seeking aid at Gaza crossing as US envoy heads to Israel
At least 37 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday while waiting for food at a crossing in the Gaza Strip, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Middle East envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing. Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Israel has come under mounting international pressure in recent days as its ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the 'worst-case scenario of famine' in the coastal territory of some two million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in the Hamas attack that sparked the conflict, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza. Of those killed in the earlier violence, more than 30 were seeking humanitarian aid, according to hospitals that received the bodies and treated dozens of wounded people. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's militants operate in densely populated areas. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said that it received 12 people who were killed on Tuesday night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim Crossing. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. Palestinians inspect the site where an Israeli strike hit in Muwasi, Khan Younis (Mariam Dagga/AP) In the southern city of Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed Tuesday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between Khan Younis and the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body of a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said that it received the bodies of four Palestinians. It said they were killed on Wednesday by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza. Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said on Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of 'widespread death' without immediate action. COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said more than 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That is far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year. The United Nations is still struggling to deliver the aid that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. The alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed GHF has also been marred by violence. Palestinians scramble for aid packages dropped into the Mediterranean Sea (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding. International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Israel denies there is any starvation in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, UN agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts. Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
RTÉ News
33 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Israeli forces kill at least 30 seeking aid in Gaza
At least 30 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces while waiting for food at a crossing in Gaza, the civil defence agency in the territory has said. "At least 30 martyrs were killed ... waiting for aid north of Gaza City," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said, adding that more than 300 were wounded. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said his facility received 35 bodies of people killed in the shooting. The shooting reportedly happened near the coast, about three kilometres southwest of the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip from the north. The latest violence around aid distribution came as the US Middle East envoy was heading to Israel for talks. Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into today, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Israel has come under mounting international pressure in recent days as its ongoing military offensive and blockade have led to the "worst-case scenario of famine" in the coastal territory of some two million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said that it received 12 people who were killed last night when Israeli forces opened fire towards crowds awaiting aid trucks coming from the Zikim Crossing. Thirteen others were killed in strikes in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, the hospital said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said it received the bodies of 16 people who it says were killed yesterday evening while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor, which the Israeli military carved out between Khan Younis and the southernmost city of Rafah. The hospital received another body of a man killed in a strike on a tent in Khan Younis, it said. The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp said that it received the bodies of four Palestinians. It said they were killed today by Israeli fire close to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the Netzarim corridor area, south of the Wadi Gaza. Seven more people die of malnutrition The continued killings come as another seven people, including one child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to Gaza health officials. A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the current stage of the war began in Gaza. The ministry said 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults. Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya yesterday, hoping to secure a bag of flour or some aid, amid worsening humanitarian conditions. A global hunger monitor said yesterday that a famine scenario was unfolding in Gaza, with malnutrition soaring, children under five dying of hunger-related causes and humanitarian access severely restricted. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the man-made starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food. With the international furore over Gaza's ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the UN World Food Programme said yesterday it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses in warfare on Sunday. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, with Israel's strongest ally, US President Donald Trump, declaring that many people were starving. He promised to set up new "food centres". Meanwhile, Executive Director at UNICEF Ireland Peter Power has said there is "not a shred of evidence" that aid in Gaza is being withheld by Hamas. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that aid organisations "were not in the business of giving humanitarian assistance to terrorists". "I think that trope has been widely debunked at this stage; it's simply not true. Not a shred of evidence has been produced to back that up," he said. Mr Power said UN agencies and other trusted humanitarian organisations have been doing this for around 80 years now and are guided by the "highest principles of humanitarian delivery". "They're not in the business of giving food or other humanitarian assistance to terrorists, and the all the briefings I've received from our own people it tells me, definitively, that that has not happened and that sort of accusation should not be made." He added that 5,000 children in Gaza were severely malnourished and at risk of dying. "In Gaza City, where I've visited, 16.3% of the children are severely acutely malnourished. When a child is severely acutely malnourished, they're at real risk of dying," he said. "We have diagnosed 5,000 children in that category who need urgent medical assistance, but there are hundreds of thousands or more, of course, who are malnourished." Every day, 200 children present at their malnutrition centres with acute malnutrition, he said. Mr Power described the aid airdrops into Gaza as "tokenistic", as it was far short of what was required. "Obviously, any aid whatsoever is welcome. But I should say that airdrops are really tokenistic. "Each parachute can only drop one or two pallets, and a number of pallets would fill a truck. "We need 500 trucks a day, that's what the United Nations system was bringing in during the ceasefire." More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 2023. The current stage of the war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israeli communities. Israel says the militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people into captivity in Gaza.
Irish Post
3 hours ago
- Irish Post
Elon Musk's X loses high court challenge over online safety rules
X, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, has lost a High Court challenge against Ireland's media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, over new online safety rules that came into force earlier this month. The court's decision marks a significant victory for the regulator and signals a strong mandate for tighter content controls on major tech platforms operating in Ireland and across the European Union. The challenge was brought by X International Unlimited Company, which operates the platform in Ireland. The company had sought to overturn the regulator's decision to adopt parts of the Online Safety Code, claiming the new rules represented 'regulatory overreach' and conflicted with European law. Specifically, X objected to provisions in the code that require video-sharing platforms to restrict or remove content deemed harmful to children, including material that promotes eating disorders, self-harm or bullying. In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Conleth Bradley dismissed the company's arguments, stating the code was in line with both the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), two major pieces of EU legislation governing online content. The judge rejected the claim that the Irish code imposed broader restrictions than permitted under EU law and affirmed that the AVMSD and DSA work 'in a complementary manner.' X had argued that the definition of 'restricted content' in the code was too vague and that it blurred the line between illegal content and so-called 'legal but harmful' material. The company also claimed that Coimisiún na Meán lacked the authority to impose certain requirements and that some provisions should be struck down. However, the court found that the regulator acted within its powers and that the rules were proportionate to the goal of protecting children online. The ruling follows ongoing tensions between X and the Irish regulator. Just last week, Coimisiún na Meán wrote to the company expressing concerns that it had not implemented adequate age-verification measures to prevent minors from accessing pornography. X responded by stating it had adopted such measures in Ireland, and the regulator is now reviewing whether these are sufficient to meet the code's standards. X's court loss comes as new online safety laws take hold in other jurisdictions, including Britain. Elon Musk has publicly criticised these laws, describing them as attempts to suppress free speech. Meanwhile, the introduction of age checks and content controls has prompted a spike in the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), with two VPN providers currently among the top five most downloaded utility apps in Ireland's Apple App Store. The High Court judgement will be formalised later this week, and the judge indicated he was inclined to order X to pay the commission's legal costs. It remains unclear whether X will appeal the decision. See More: Elon Musk, High Court Dublin, Online Safety Code, Twitter, X
