Canberra/Dublin: Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called on Israel to cease its attacks on hospitals, expressing concern about the “harrowing” number of civilian deaths from its assault on Gaza.
“I would make this point in relation to hospitals and medical facilities: that international humanitarian law does require the protection of hospitals, of patients and of medical staff,” Wong told ABC’s Insiders programme on Sunday.
“And we do call on Israel to cease the attacking of hospitals. We understand the argument that Hamas is burrowed into civilian infrastructure. But, you know, I think the international community, looking at what is occurring in hospitals, would say to Israel: these are facilities protected under international law and we want you to do so.”
“We need steps towards a ceasefire. It cannot be one-sided,” Wong said.
“We know that Hamas is still holding hostages, and we know that a ceasefire must be agreed between the parties.”
On the other hand, Ireland’s parliament is set to vote next week on the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.
The left-wing Social Democrats said last week that it will bring a motion on Wednesday to expel Ambassador Dana Erlich “given failure of the Israeli state to cease the deliberate targeting of civilians, journalists, UN staff and healthcare workers”.
While the Social Democrats hold just six of the 160 seats in Dail Eireann, the Irish parliament, several other left-wing parties have voiced their support for revoking Erlich’s diplomatic status.
Sinn Fein, the biggest party in parliament along with centre-right Fianna Fail, has also called for Erlich’s expulsion, although it has indicated that it will table its own motion that instead calls for Israel’s referral to the International Criminal Court.
Ireland, where many people see parallels between the Palestine cause and the struggle for independence from Britain, has unusually strained relations with Israel for a European country.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has supported Israel’s right to defend itself but expressed concern that its bombardment of Gaza amounts to “collective punishment” and “something more approaching revenge”.
Irish President Michael D Higgins, whose role is largely ceremonial, has been especially critical of Israel, accusing it of reducing international law around the protection of civilians to “tatters”.
Erlich hit back at Higgins’s comments, telling the Sunday Independent newspaper that there was “a strong feeling in Israel that there is an unconscious bias against Israel in Ireland”.
