‘Intimidatory behaviour’ by Israeli forces to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon unacceptable, says Harris

“Intimidatory behaviour” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) towards United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon is utterly unacceptable and must be protested at the highest level, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.
Speaking to reporters at Georgetown University on Thursday as his two-day visit to Washington DC concluded, Mr Harris said he had discussed the situation in the Middle East with Joe Biden just hours after the US president spoke with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
He said the conversation he had with Mr Biden had “left me in no doubt of the significance of what he had discussed with the prime minister of Israel”.
The Taoiseach said that, more broadly, “Israel will have to be judged on what it does and not what it says.”
“What happened today is extraordinarily concerning,” he said of the targeting of peacekeepers.
“The loss of civilian life is concerning, the incursion into Lebanon, the bombing of Gaza is beyond concerning, it is despicable, but actually there is very clear international law about peacekeeping. And I think the intimidatory behaviour towards peacekeepers is utterly unacceptable and must be protested at the highest level.”
Mr Harris gave an address in the Riggs library in Georgetown, attended by Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States Geraldine Byrne Nason and students, to conclude his visit.
Before he departed, Mr Harris said he would meet the family of Aoife Johnston, who died of meningitis almost two years ago after being left untreated for sepsis in University Hospital Limerick’s overcrowded emergency department for more than 12 hours.
“I have met with them before,” he said. “They are a beautiful family grieving the loss of a beautiful daughter in the most horrific, unacceptable and somewhat inexplicable circumstances.”
The late 16-year-old’s family have been seeking a statutory inquiry into the failings that led to Aoife’s death, and Mr Harris said he would not rule out one taking place.
“The family has said very clearly through their representative that they have questions to be answered. We have to work with them so I think the first thing to do is for myself and minister Donnelly to meet with the family. I am very happy for that to take place as quickly as possible.”
The Taoiseach also referenced the uncertainty over the scholarship initiative named after Georgetown alumnus George Mitchell, which was set up in the late 1990s but is now in doubt because of an insufficient long-term funding model.
He said the Government was having “active conversations” as to what the structure of the scheme should be going forward. He said resources will not be an issue but the Government will want a return for funding the scholarships.
“I have spoken directly to Senator Mitchell about this as recently as last week in Dublin. But we do want to get this model right. Not to in any way besmirch anything that went before it … And I think we could do something a lot bigger in relation to impact and numbers. And we just want to get that right. But it will be resourced.”
The Fine Gael leader’s trip to the US was meant to mark the centenary of Ireland-United States diplomatic relations, but the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton caused a planned garden party to be cancelled on Wednesday.
“I don’t yet know when the Rose Garden ceremony will be but I know president Biden would hope to have that during his time in office, whether I am here or another member of the Government, that remains to be seen,” Mr Harris said.
“But the most important thing I wanted to do was to engage directly with the president of the United States and to have almost an hour of the president’s time in the Oval Office is important and significant.”