|
Trending Topics
|
Israel's Foreign Minister Blasts Irish President
(Times of Israel) Ireland's President Michael Higgins on Tuesday said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu "has breached the sovereignty of three of his neighbors, in relation to Lebanon, Syria, and would like in fact actually to have a settlement into Egypt." In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar responded: "From Lebanese territory, Israel's sovereignty was breached for over a year. For no reason and unprovoked, Hizbullah joined Hamas on October 8 [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 said that "armed groups entered the buffer zone and attacked UNDOF forces," violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Israel entered the buffer zone in the Golan Heights "to prevent the threat of radical Islamists against its citizens and communities. Israel will not wait for another October 7 on any of its borders." Regarding Egypt, "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." Sa'ar added, "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."