The Irish government has summoned the Israeli ambassador to express outrage over the deaths of 58 Palestinians in Gaza, but has ruled out expelling him. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there was no indication the scale of the threat justified such violence, adding that live ammunition should not be used for crowd control.
Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney met Ambassador Zeev Bokar on Tuesday morning, calling for restraint and an independent international investigation led by the UN. The meeting came after opposition TDs had called for Bokar's expulsion following Monday's violence, the deadliest in Gaza since 2014.
Varadkar explained that expelling the ambassador would lead to reciprocal action against Ireland's envoy in Israel. "If we were to expel their ambassador they would expel ours," he said.
Ireland also expressed concern over the overwhelmed health services in Gaza, with emergency responders struggling to cope with the 2,700 injured. The World Health Organisation reported 211 attacks on health workers during the demonstrations.
The violence coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the mass displacement of Palestinians after Israel's creation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the military action as self-defence against Hamas, but the UN human rights office criticised the use of force, noting that approaching a fence is not a lethal threat.
