Ireland's Parliament lashed by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee over moves to recognise Palestinian state
The bill, which is currently in pre-legislative scrutiny, would also seek to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
The move has angered the US, historically an ally of the Republic of Ireland.
Reacting on X, Republican Senator Lindsay Graham accused Ireland of seeking to isolate Israel economically.
He added 'I do not believe these efforts would be well received in the United States and they certainly would not go unnoticed.'
The strongest criticism came from US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who posted: "Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland!'
Chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland Maurice Cohen called the bill 'a performance of misguided effort' and declared 'it won't bring two states closer, but it might drive Jewish communities here in Ireland further into fear and isolation,' Cohen said.
Irish prime minister Micheál Martin said the measure was aimed at forcing an end to the war.
'This is one element of the government's approach to the devastating violence and the appalling humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank,' Martin said in April.
The comments come as many allies of Israel have ramped up their criticism of the nation's government. Several countries, including Australia ,sanctioned Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
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Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Druze community left shattered amid ongoing violence in Syria
Heavy gunfire and shelling have taken place in Syria as security forces struggle to implement a ceasefire with Israel. Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli forces after a week of violence. The rage felt against the mainly Druze community can be seen down every street in Sweida city, with every Druze home and business having been burnt, and its contents destroyed or looted.
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Syrian forces struggle to enforce Druze region truce
Sectarian clashes have escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida, with machine gun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggles to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try to keep peace, and urged all parties to stop fighting after nearly a week of factional bloodshed in which hundreds have been killed. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said "Arab and American" mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticised Israel for air strikes during the week. The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of Sharaa's jihadist-dominated government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al-Assad in December. It started last week as clashes between the Druze - a religious minority native to southern Syria, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon and Jordan - and Syrian Bedouin tribes. Government forces then arrived to try to quell tensions, clashing with Druze gunmen and attacking the Druze community. Saturday's violence once again pitted Druze against Bedouin, witnesses said. The fighting has drawn in neighbouring Israel, which carried out air strikes in southern Syria and on the Defence Ministry in Damascus this week while government forces were fighting with the Druze. Israel says it is protecting the Druze, who also form a significant minority in Israel. But Israel and the United States differ over Syria. The US supports a centralised Syria under Sharaa's government, which has pledged to rule for all citizens, while Israel says the government is dominated by jihadists and a danger to minorities. In March, Syria's military was involved in mass killings of members of the Alawite minority to which much of Assad's elite belonged. In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate ceasefire and urged an immediate end to hostilities. The interior ministry said internal forces had begun deploying. Sharaa said Syria would not be a "testing ground for partition, secession or sectarian incitement". "The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability," he said in a televised speech. Sharaa appeared to blame Druze gunmen for the latest clashes, accusing them of revenge attacks against Bedouins. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sharaa of siding with the perpetrators. "In al-Shara's Syria, it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority - Kurd, Druze, Alawite, or Christian," he posted on X. US envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Barrack, who is both US ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy for the US, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis, together with other minorities, to "build a new and united Syrian identity". Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities in the seven months since Assad fell and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarised. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to Sweida for two days. Mansour Namour, a resident of a village near Sweida city, said mortar shells were still landing near his home on Saturday afternoon, and that at least 22 people had been wounded. A doctor in Sweida said a local hospital was full of bodies and wounded people from days of violence. "All the injuries are from bombs, some people with their chests wounded. There are also injuries to limbs from shrapnel," said Omar Obeid, director of the hospital. Sectarian clashes have escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida, with machine gun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggles to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try to keep peace, and urged all parties to stop fighting after nearly a week of factional bloodshed in which hundreds have been killed. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said "Arab and American" mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticised Israel for air strikes during the week. The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of Sharaa's jihadist-dominated government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al-Assad in December. It started last week as clashes between the Druze - a religious minority native to southern Syria, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon and Jordan - and Syrian Bedouin tribes. Government forces then arrived to try to quell tensions, clashing with Druze gunmen and attacking the Druze community. Saturday's violence once again pitted Druze against Bedouin, witnesses said. The fighting has drawn in neighbouring Israel, which carried out air strikes in southern Syria and on the Defence Ministry in Damascus this week while government forces were fighting with the Druze. Israel says it is protecting the Druze, who also form a significant minority in Israel. But Israel and the United States differ over Syria. The US supports a centralised Syria under Sharaa's government, which has pledged to rule for all citizens, while Israel says the government is dominated by jihadists and a danger to minorities. In March, Syria's military was involved in mass killings of members of the Alawite minority to which much of Assad's elite belonged. In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate ceasefire and urged an immediate end to hostilities. The interior ministry said internal forces had begun deploying. Sharaa said Syria would not be a "testing ground for partition, secession or sectarian incitement". "The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability," he said in a televised speech. Sharaa appeared to blame Druze gunmen for the latest clashes, accusing them of revenge attacks against Bedouins. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sharaa of siding with the perpetrators. "In al-Shara's Syria, it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority - Kurd, Druze, Alawite, or Christian," he posted on X. US envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Barrack, who is both US ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy for the US, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis, together with other minorities, to "build a new and united Syrian identity". Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities in the seven months since Assad fell and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarised. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to Sweida for two days. Mansour Namour, a resident of a village near Sweida city, said mortar shells were still landing near his home on Saturday afternoon, and that at least 22 people had been wounded. A doctor in Sweida said a local hospital was full of bodies and wounded people from days of violence. "All the injuries are from bombs, some people with their chests wounded. There are also injuries to limbs from shrapnel," said Omar Obeid, director of the hospital. Sectarian clashes have escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida, with machine gun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggles to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try to keep peace, and urged all parties to stop fighting after nearly a week of factional bloodshed in which hundreds have been killed. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said "Arab and American" mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticised Israel for air strikes during the week. The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of Sharaa's jihadist-dominated government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al-Assad in December. It started last week as clashes between the Druze - a religious minority native to southern Syria, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon and Jordan - and Syrian Bedouin tribes. Government forces then arrived to try to quell tensions, clashing with Druze gunmen and attacking the Druze community. Saturday's violence once again pitted Druze against Bedouin, witnesses said. The fighting has drawn in neighbouring Israel, which carried out air strikes in southern Syria and on the Defence Ministry in Damascus this week while government forces were fighting with the Druze. Israel says it is protecting the Druze, who also form a significant minority in Israel. But Israel and the United States differ over Syria. The US supports a centralised Syria under Sharaa's government, which has pledged to rule for all citizens, while Israel says the government is dominated by jihadists and a danger to minorities. In March, Syria's military was involved in mass killings of members of the Alawite minority to which much of Assad's elite belonged. In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate ceasefire and urged an immediate end to hostilities. The interior ministry said internal forces had begun deploying. Sharaa said Syria would not be a "testing ground for partition, secession or sectarian incitement". "The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability," he said in a televised speech. Sharaa appeared to blame Druze gunmen for the latest clashes, accusing them of revenge attacks against Bedouins. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sharaa of siding with the perpetrators. "In al-Shara's Syria, it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority - Kurd, Druze, Alawite, or Christian," he posted on X. US envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Barrack, who is both US ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy for the US, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis, together with other minorities, to "build a new and united Syrian identity". Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities in the seven months since Assad fell and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarised. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to Sweida for two days. Mansour Namour, a resident of a village near Sweida city, said mortar shells were still landing near his home on Saturday afternoon, and that at least 22 people had been wounded. A doctor in Sweida said a local hospital was full of bodies and wounded people from days of violence. "All the injuries are from bombs, some people with their chests wounded. There are also injuries to limbs from shrapnel," said Omar Obeid, director of the hospital. Sectarian clashes have escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida, with machine gun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggles to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try to keep peace, and urged all parties to stop fighting after nearly a week of factional bloodshed in which hundreds have been killed. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said "Arab and American" mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticised Israel for air strikes during the week. The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of Sharaa's jihadist-dominated government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al-Assad in December. It started last week as clashes between the Druze - a religious minority native to southern Syria, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and parts of Lebanon and Jordan - and Syrian Bedouin tribes. Government forces then arrived to try to quell tensions, clashing with Druze gunmen and attacking the Druze community. Saturday's violence once again pitted Druze against Bedouin, witnesses said. The fighting has drawn in neighbouring Israel, which carried out air strikes in southern Syria and on the Defence Ministry in Damascus this week while government forces were fighting with the Druze. Israel says it is protecting the Druze, who also form a significant minority in Israel. But Israel and the United States differ over Syria. The US supports a centralised Syria under Sharaa's government, which has pledged to rule for all citizens, while Israel says the government is dominated by jihadists and a danger to minorities. In March, Syria's military was involved in mass killings of members of the Alawite minority to which much of Assad's elite belonged. In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian presidency announced an immediate ceasefire and urged an immediate end to hostilities. The interior ministry said internal forces had begun deploying. Sharaa said Syria would not be a "testing ground for partition, secession or sectarian incitement". "The Israeli intervention pushed the country into a dangerous phase that threatened its stability," he said in a televised speech. Sharaa appeared to blame Druze gunmen for the latest clashes, accusing them of revenge attacks against Bedouins. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Sharaa of siding with the perpetrators. "In al-Shara's Syria, it is very dangerous to be a member of a minority - Kurd, Druze, Alawite, or Christian," he posted on X. US envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Barrack, who is both US ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy for the US, urged Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis, together with other minorities, to "build a new and united Syrian identity". Israel has attacked Syrian military facilities in the seven months since Assad fell and says it wants areas of southern Syria near its border to remain demilitarised. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel had agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to Sweida for two days. Mansour Namour, a resident of a village near Sweida city, said mortar shells were still landing near his home on Saturday afternoon, and that at least 22 people had been wounded. A doctor in Sweida said a local hospital was full of bodies and wounded people from days of violence. "All the injuries are from bombs, some people with their chests wounded. There are also injuries to limbs from shrapnel," said Omar Obeid, director of the hospital.
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
UK police hold 55 at rally for banned Palestine Action
Fifty-five people have been arrested at a rally for the banned Palestine Action group outside the United Kingdom parliament, London's Metropolitan Police say. The crowd in Parliament Square had been waving placards supporting the group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation, the force said in a post on X. People from the rally, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, were taken away in police vans. MPs proscribed the group earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against the UK's support for Israel. Membership of Palestine Action now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The group has called the decision "authoritarian" and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London's High Court on Monday. Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted military firms and other companies in the UK linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Police have arrested scores of the group's supporters at rallies across the UK since the ban came in. Fifty-five people have been arrested at a rally for the banned Palestine Action group outside the United Kingdom parliament, London's Metropolitan Police say. The crowd in Parliament Square had been waving placards supporting the group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation, the force said in a post on X. People from the rally, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, were taken away in police vans. MPs proscribed the group earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against the UK's support for Israel. Membership of Palestine Action now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The group has called the decision "authoritarian" and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London's High Court on Monday. Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted military firms and other companies in the UK linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Police have arrested scores of the group's supporters at rallies across the UK since the ban came in. Fifty-five people have been arrested at a rally for the banned Palestine Action group outside the United Kingdom parliament, London's Metropolitan Police say. The crowd in Parliament Square had been waving placards supporting the group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation, the force said in a post on X. People from the rally, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, were taken away in police vans. MPs proscribed the group earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against the UK's support for Israel. Membership of Palestine Action now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The group has called the decision "authoritarian" and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London's High Court on Monday. Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted military firms and other companies in the UK linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Police have arrested scores of the group's supporters at rallies across the UK since the ban came in. Fifty-five people have been arrested at a rally for the banned Palestine Action group outside the United Kingdom parliament, London's Metropolitan Police say. The crowd in Parliament Square had been waving placards supporting the group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation, the force said in a post on X. People from the rally, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, were taken away in police vans. MPs proscribed the group earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against the UK's support for Israel. Membership of Palestine Action now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The group has called the decision "authoritarian" and a challenge to the ban will be heard at London's High Court on Monday. Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted military firms and other companies in the UK linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Police have arrested scores of the group's supporters at rallies across the UK since the ban came in.
