A former Irish president has called on the US to stop sending weapons and funds to Israel as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise.
Mary Robinson, who is the chair of the group of senior statesmen The Elders, said that Ireland’s leaders should push for political responses to the humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian enclave.
Mrs Robinson urged Irish premier Leo Varadkar to use meetings he has with US President Joe Biden and other senior US politicians this weekend to push this point.
Mrs Robinson said on RTE Radio on Friday: “Yes the humanitarian situation is utterly catastrophic and dire, reducing a people to famine, undermining all our values, but the message I want to deliver on behalf of the Elders is a direct message to our Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.”
“This (Israeli) government of Prime Minister (Benyamin) Netanyahu is on the wrong side of history, completely, is making the United States complicit in reducing a people to famine – making the world complicit.”
Mrs Robinson said that Mr Varadkar should speak to all levels of US politics “to make it clear that Israel depends on the United States for military aid and for money, that’s what will change everything”.
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also questioned why funding to the UN agency for Palestinian aid UNRWA was stopped after allegations by Israel of 12 staff members’ involvement in the October 7 attack.
She added that Mr Varadkar should tell Mr Biden to “take the risk” of the political fallout in what is a US election year to push for a peaceful solution or he will “lose whatever reputation he had”.
“What is happening is appalling and we’re watching it,” she said.
“The president is very clear that the US would continue to support Israel and to assist Israel to defend itself so, I don’t think that’s going to change, but I think none of us like to see American weapons being used in the way they are. The way they are being used at the moment is not self-defence.”
He added: “There’s a difference between self-defence and what’s happening now and that’s why we need to move towards a ceasefire.”
