Analysis News

Irish and international peacekeeping troops refuse Israel’s order to leave Lebanese border

Irish and Unifil soldiers say they will not abandon their posts

Irish troops on peacekeeping patrol in Lebanon (image: Irish Defence Forces)

Israeli occupation forces have told the Irish government to recall its peacekeepers from their positions near Lebanon’s border with Israel – and have been rebuffed.

The order was made to Unifil (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) and separately to each individual country that provides troops for the peacekeeping force. Israel’s demand has been rejected.

As well as the Irish garrison of around 370 troops on the border, UNIFIL has significant contingents from India, Ghana, Bangladesh, Nepal, Spain, South Korea, Indonesia, Italy, France, Malaysia and Finland. In Israel’s first attempt to invade Lebanon by land, in which it was repulsed and suffered heavy casualties, fighting came within two kilometres of the Irish outpost.

The Irish government, which has already joined the resistance to Israel’s settler colonialism and genocide by recognising Palestinian statehood, reportedly told Israel that Unifil troop movements are a matter for the United Nations and its force commander on the ground. Unifil has told Israel it will not be removing the troops.

If Israel proceeds with the full-scale invasion it has threatened and the already-underway slaughter of civilians that will go with it, it will have to go through the peacekeepers to get to them. The UK, by contrast, continues to arm and support the genocidal aggressors.

One-Time
Monthly
Yearly

Make a one-time donation

Make a monthly donation

Make a yearly donation

Choose an amount

£5.00
£10.00
£20.00
£3.00
£5.00
£10.00
£50.00
£75.00
£100.00

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your support is hugely appreciated.

Your support is hugely appreciated.

Your support is hugely appreciated.

DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly

If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.

9 comments

  1. France has stopped arms sales to Israel based on the ‘its time to cover my arse’ principal of International Law
    Now where can you get your hands on a half decent human rights lawyer when you need one

    1. Dunno Doug but there are loads of people who claimed that they were life-long United fans but now they’re born City fans.

  2. Point of Order
    The Yanks and their arse licks are all calling for a Ceasefire, the Security Council should impose a Ceasefire by sending more troops to enforce it
    Then repeat in Gaza and the West Bank
    Iran already has backing from Russia and China
    China in particular cannot afford to have their major supplier of oil Iraq attacked
    WMD II
    The Fuhrer stood behind the podium in Downing Street and blatantly lied to the British people about the Iran missile attack deliberately targeting civilians in Israel
    Is there no comeback for this or is it just another nail in the coffin of our Democracy
    The War Criminal must be ever so proud

    1. Our rappers should play the LAUGHING POLICEMAN, everytime he speaks in public.

  3. Good for the Irish – they are already involved in providing a lot of help
    for the Palestinians.

    They had to withstand many years of Colonialism .. and know what it is like

  4. Death by a thousand cuts is what I prescribe, the Iranians have vast caverns underground producing drones, precision missiles and other advanced military equipment. The ‘arc of resistance’ are biding their time, but are aware they will be called upon to respond more aggressively soon.
    Hezbollah are in the best position to harm Israel, they know every target to make Israel unviable and have the military means to do so. Israel has no strategic depth since most of the population and industrial capacity is within the 50 square kilometre metropolitan Tel Aviv area. Haifa port can almost be seen from the border of Lebanon.
    The Houthis are doing a wonderful job at the moment, the Iraqi militias have launched drone attacks recently against Haifa oil terminals, however the distances are vast and have to fly over Jordan or Syria. Iran needs to give more and better precision missiles and drones to Iraqi militias since they can shoot and scoot far better than other militias. As the late Nasrallah said, Israel is weaker than a spiders web, three ports, Ashdod, Haifa and Ben Gorian airport could be closed easily with a steady threat of missile/drone, naval mine attacks. Unfortunately negotiation will not work since the US/Israel have abandoned International law totally, and they have no moral justification for their genocidal behavior, we await the results of the Israeli/US might is right doctrine. 400 million Muslims surrounding the 7 million Israelis, and 2 billion Muslims and others world wide can mean only one thing… The ‘suitcase or the coffin’. [Battle of Algiers]

  5. Well done UN Peacekeepers.
    Weak piece by Lightweight Starmer in today’s Sunday Times (6/10/24) which seems to accept it all started on 7/10/23 but back then many of us were really, really worried immediately after the armed Israeli illegal settlements were attacked, as from past experience we knew a massive response would soon come from Israel but what we have all witnessed daily for almost a year now is beyond anything we could have ever imagined.
    And perhaps Mr Starmer’s article title should have been ‘107 Years Since the British Elite, who felt they were Superior, told the Palestine people – WE have decided that Jewish people can have a “Home in Palestine” YOUR country.’
    But importantly they did NOT say a state or country which the Zionists had been pushing for.
    And The Balfour Declaration also said this Jewish Home “Should have NO DETRIMENTAL effect on the indigenous (Palestinian) population.”
    (See Bernard Regan, The Balfour Declaration).
    And Starmer now repeats the initial Israeli reports of “Rape” though when Biden repeated this claim to the world’s media the US Defence Dept said within 30 minutes that “It did not happen.”
    And later the Israeli Occupation Force (IDF) also confirmed this.
    Some Jewish women have recently come forward saying they were raped and of course this and the allegations of rape by IDF soldiers of Palestine prisoners should both be investigated and perhaps ideally by an expert international team who will look at the evidence, and such a team could also examine the killings at the rock concert again looking at all the evidence to hold people (based on the full evidence) to account.
    Starmer also mentions the threat from “starvation” amongst Palestinians but didn’t he refrain from criticising this as a tactic by Israel early on before backtracking?
    He further mentions an immediate ceasefire (Labour first called for one ,whilst continuing to support arms sales to Israel, after about 7 months & 42,000 Palestinian deaths & 75,000 injuries too late, though now The Lancet says its 186,000 deaths) but WE have been calling for this every day for almost a year!
    He does say release All hostages which again we have called for every day from
    Day One but we have always been clear to also include the 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails including women & 160 children, and Human Rights Watch says “Most of these are held on flimsy or no charges.”
    So now from thousands of miles away Starmer decides that Palestinians may have a 2 State Solution which means they would only get 20% of their country back & even that would be under the supervision of The Occupation Force, so Mr S at a stroke illegally breaks The Balfour Declaration.
    But perhaps for Peace we should listen to Palestinian intellectuals like E.Eid & the late Edward Said who called for One Multi-Ethnic Democratic State of Palestine from the rivers to the sea with the Right of Palestinian Refugees to Return.
    Starmer also seems blind to the fact, though he may not like it, that ALL countries who are attacked do have the right to Self-Defence and perhaps it’s best not to attack them in the first place.
    And he cherry picks one UN resolution against Hezbollah but again seems oblivious to the MANY UN resolutions going back many, years against Israel.
    One State is a logical & peaceful political resolution (and in this ALL diverse citizens would have religious freedom) and instead of “Violence being the last resort of an exhausted mind” for politicians (?) a Free Secular Independent Democratic Multi-Ethnic State of Palestine could exploit its own land, gas, oil & build a new canal if it wishes, to care for its diverse citizens & to benefit world trade.
    Some say what is really driving the West is PROITS from arms as well as from the above natural sources.
    But as we have been doing from day one we will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages on ALL sides, and a political solution.
    Like the UN Peacekeepers.
    Yours In Peace.

  6. Lebensraum
    Living space
    Greater Israel for the chosen people goes way beyond from the River to the Sea
    Israel and the Yanks see this as a once in a life time opportunity to shape the Middle East for their benefit
    It’s going to end in tears
    Genius is knowing when to stop

Leave a Reply to DougCancel reply

Discover more from SKWAWKBOX

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading