‘Antisemitic liar’: Israel blasts Irish president’s claim that it wants to settle Egypt

‘Antisemitic liar’: Israel blasts Irish president’s claim that it wants to settle Egypt

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar castigates comments made today by Ireland’s president, who accused Israel of breaching Lebanon’s and Syria’s sovereignty and charged, without evidence, that Jerusalem is seeking to establish settlements in Egypt.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar yesterday defended his decision to close Israel’s embassy in Ireland, saying that Dublin “encouraged” antisemitism under a prime minister he accused of hating Jews.

Responding earlier today, Irish President Michael Higgins said that “it is a very serious business to actually brand a people because in fact they disagree with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, who is in breach of so many bits of international law, and who has beached the sovereignty of three of his neighbors, in relation to Lebanon, Syria, and would like in fact actually to have a settlement into Egypt.”

“I think to suggest that because one criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu that one is antisemitic is such a gross defamation and slander,” Higgins added during a ceremony where Palestinian Authority envoy Jilan Abdalmajid presented her letter of credence.

President Michael D Higgins has said that to say the Irish people are anti-Semitic is a “gross defamation and slander”, and it is a “very serious business” to do so simply because people disagree with the actions of the Israeli Prime Minister.
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In a new English-language statement, Sa’ar says: “Once an antisemitic liar — always an antisemitic liar,” going on to defend Israel’s actions on all three fronts.

“From Lebanese territory, Israel’s sovereignty was breached for over a year,” he says. “For no reason and unprovoked, Hezbollah joined Hamas on October 8th [2023] and since then fired tens of thousands of missiles, rockets and drones at Israeli citizens and communities. Israel did what any country would — it defended itself against a brutal aggressor.”

On Syria, Sa’ar says: “While Assad’s regime disintegrated, armed groups entered the buffer zone and attacked UNDOF forces, in violation of the Disengagement Agreement from 1974. Israel temporarily entered a few limited points to prevent the threat of radical Islamists against its citizens and communities. Israel will not wait for another [onslaught resembling what Hamas did on] October 7th [2023] on any of its borders.”

And regarding the Egypt settlement claim, he says: “Higgins invented the claim that Israel seeks to form settlements there. In the context of our peace agreement with Egypt, Israel withdrew from a huge area — all of the Sinai desert, and uprooted all of its communities there. This peace agreement has been maintained since 1979.”

Concluding his combative statement, Sa’ar brings up Ireland’s failure to join the Allies in fighting Nazi Germany in World War II.

“Let us not forget that Ireland was at best neutral during World War II.
At that time, the free world was fighting Hitler’s axis while Ireland sat on the side and did nothing.”