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LAST UPDATE | 11 Sep 2019
IRISH POLITICAL PARTIES have condemned Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to annex the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank if re-elected in 17 September polls.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney said Netanyahu’s pledge “may be dismissed by some as reckless electioneering” but warned “this dangerous political commitment must be challenged and rejected as totally unacceptable and illegal by [the] international community.”
This may be dismissed by some as reckless electioneering, but this dangerous political commitment must be challenged and rejected as totally unacceptable and illegal by international community. #UN #EU. https://t.co/BCAjwlESAH
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) September 11, 2019
“There is one place where we can apply Israeli sovereignty immediately after the elections,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech yesterday.
“If I receive from you, citizens of Israel, a clear mandate to do so…today I announce my intention to apply with the formation of the next government Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea.”
The prime minister also reiterated his intention to annex Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank if re-elected in coordination with US President Donald Trump, whose long-awaited peace plan is expected to be unveiled sometime after the vote.
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade Niall Collins TD, meanwhile, criticised Netanyahu’s plan.
“I condemn the announcement by Benjamin Netanyahu to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank if he is re-elected as Prime Minister of Israel. It is evident that Mr Netanyahu is putting his re-election ahead of the peace process,” he said.
“This is deeply disappointing and underscores that Mr Netanyahu’s is more concerned with electoral gain than actually finding a sustainable and long-lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East,” Collins added.
Earlier today, Israel bombed Hamas positions in Gaza overnight in retaliation for rocket fire across the border, which cut short an election rally by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu was hustled off stage when sirens warning of incoming rockets blared in the southern city of Ashdod last night, public television reported.
It came just hours after the premier pledged to annex the Jordan Valley.
Israeli fighter jets “struck 15 terror targets in northern and central Gaza Strip,” including a weapons factory, an attack tunnel and naval targets, the army said.
It said it would continue to hold Hamas responsible for all rocket fire that comes from the Gaza Strip, regardless of who actually fired the weapons.
A security source in Gaza confirmed a number of Hamas bases had been struck, without causing any casualties.
Both rockets fired from Gaza were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system.
Islamists Hamas have been the de facto rulers of Gaza since they ousted forces loyal to president Mahmud Abbas in deadly fighting in 2007.
Video distributed by Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party showed him returning to the stage after the all-clear and saying that Hamas was scared of him winning next Tuesday’s general election.
“If it attacks us on live TV, you understand that it doesn’t want us here,” he told his audience.
Arch-foes Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008.
With reporting from - © AFP 2019
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I’m voting Sinn Féin. And just to debunk the myth about SF voters, I started work at 6am.
@Ebeneezer Goode: not many thumbs up yet Eb, you’re mates will boost the thumbs in about 6 hours, don’t worry!
@Wheresmyjumper: you sound desperate, don’t panic FFG are sinking and you can’t do anything
@Ebeneezer Goode: I’m going to give them a vote this time too. I start at 9 but get up at 6.20 to commute. I would love a family sized apartment near the city instead of a house in the suburbs so I had more free time. I wish our city was planned like a real city.
@Ebeneezer Goode: started work at 6am and commenting on the journal by 6:51am. Your productivity levels must through the roof……
@Ebeneezer Goode: me to on botha counts. I’m voting Sinn Feinn because I think we will get a big global shock financially that will damage our economy. If and when that happens I want a party in government that will prioritise the protection of our society over the gains of global market gamblers.
Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour & The Greens sold us all out for higher interests.
The real shadowy figures.
Never again should we have people in power who will let the destruction that was unfolded on people’s lives here happen while at the same time paying out on market gambling debts of the mega rich.
@Ebeneezer Goode: Same , though I started work at 8am, I had to leave home at 5am. This is because despite the fact I have a well paid job, due to the housing issues FF and FG have done nothing about for my entire lifetime I can not afford to live in Dublin even though I work here… At this stage I will take any change from being governed by FF/FG!
@Ebeneezer Goode: Im voting SF and never got job seeker benefit in my life, the only party who acknowledges low earners….
I’m voting for change .
I’m voting SF.
@Willy Mc Entire: we know. You keep saying. Feel free to explain why they’d change anything.
@Willy Mc Entire:
we know. Is it shinnerbot policy to post this on every article… if you repeat it at nauseam you will get traction and brainwash a few dopes.
Hopefully they pay you well for it, otherwise please get a life and stop posting the same thing over and over. Anyone with a brain will not be influenced by this nonsense.
@Goban Saor: probably because they are not a party of pocket stuffing parasites like FFG are?
@Gus Sheridan: just beholden to a bunch of ex-terrorists and criminals from Belfast.
All politicians want is your vote and when they get in they will do sweet f all for you. They are all the same
@David O Brien: exactly I don’t know why people get so worked up about voting for people who only pretend to care for them
I’m more worried about how much they’ve spent of leaflets. I can hardly open the front door some evenings with the amount of rubbish that has accumulated during the day.
@Σ ΛΛ ΛΛ Θ: collect all the leaflets for each party
Separate them and address them to the parties concerned in an envelope
Post it without any stamp
Let them pay the postage!
If enough people do the same it might just sink in we don’t want their litter
Michael Healy Rae is brilliant. I’d vote for him if I could.
@John Considine: why can’t you…
@John Considine: He’s good entertainment value, a bit like Willie O’Dea. But that’s about as far as it goes.
Any one see michael healy rae on the news last night with the young convicted thug behind him.
I’m voting for Sinn Fein. 220 bucks a week on the dole, how am i suppose to survive on that. I want those on the high income to pay more tax to support people like us who don’t work.
@Daithi De Roiste: you sad person….
@Peter donnelly: I’m very sad, and hungry!
I don’t even particularly think their candidate in my constituency is any good, but nearly sure that SF will get my No1.
If you see an advert by FF/FG on Facebook just report it as “misleading/scam” and if enough do it, they will remove it !
I would genuinely be worried about my job if sinn fein got in. I work in a multinational and if sinn fein got in they would tax them much higher.
Not happy with ff and fg but sinn fein are too extreme.
have your say