Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin — who is widely expected to succeed Harris as prime minister once post-election negotiations on forming a new coalition government conclude — said Ireland would maintain its own embassy in Israel to ensure that diplomatic channels stay open.
“The continuation of the war in Gaza and the loss of innocent lives is simply unacceptable and contravenes international law. It represents the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza,” Martin said.
Israel’s move follows a steady downward spiral in relations with Ireland, which has a history of expressing sympathy for the Palestinian cause.
Ireland was the last member of the European Union to open an embassy in Israel, in 1996, the same year that Israel opened its embassy in Dublin.
Israel’s ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, left the country in May after the Irish joined Norway and Spain in formally recognizing Palestine as a state. Last month, the Palestinian Authority’s mission in Dublin received full embassy status as Ireland appointed its first ambassador to Palestine.
Tensions also have risen over Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon as part of its assault on Hezbollah, an operation that has threatened United Nations peacekeepers there, among them an Irish army battalion.
