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President Higgins criticises Israel for blaming UN agencies for 'slow trickle' of aid into Gaza

Higgins said that the statement issued by Israeli forces was “deeply concerning”.

IRELAND’S PRESIDENT MICHAEL D. Higgins has criticised Israel’s forces for releasing a statement which claimed aid reaching Gaza at a slow place is down to the The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). 

Higgins said that the statement issued on behalf of Israeli forces is “deeply concerning and potentially undermines and detracts from the integrity of UNRWA and its critical and vital work at this time”. 

The President said that those who support the UN and its agencies should “seek independent verification of what is blocking aid in Gaza”. 

Higgins said that everyone who believes in the United Nations and its work, and who respect the resolution it passed two weeks ago, “must back UNRWA and the vital work that it is doing in the most difficult of circumstances”. 

Last Friday the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the expedition of aid deliveries to citizens in Gaza who are starving and without adequate medical care. 

 

The vote was 13-0, with the US and Russia abstaining. The US, however, did not veto the resolution. Russia wanted the resolution to feature stronger language and called the version of it that passed “toothless”, the US took an opposing stance. 

Its passing came after intense diplomatic negotiations, and the resolution that passed featured considerably weakened language. It did not call for an immediate ceasefire. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter, now known as X, that he hopes the resolution “may help improve the delivery of much-needed aid, but a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin meeting the desperate needs of people in Gaza and end their ongoing nightmare”. 

The UN Palestinian envoy said it took the Security Council 75 days “to finally utter the words ‘cessation of hostilities,’”. Riyad Mansour did say, however, that the resolution was a “step in the right direction”. 

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    Mute Seanfhear míshásta
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:37 PM

    Thankfully, someone is calling out Israel on this.

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    Mute Dissasociated Follower
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:59 PM

    @Seanfhear míshásta: Good man President. You’re entitled as a decent human being with compassion in your heart to speak out against genocidal maniacs and if anyone gives you any s4!t we’ll back you up all the way.

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    Mute Sean Sean
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:32 PM

    @Seanfhear míshásta: It’s even worse than most people think. Worse than South Africa, much worse. Read The Palestine Laboratory. And the book is written by a Jewish man.

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    Mute Patricia Mc Namara
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:44 PM

    Well said Mr President.

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    Mute The Green Monkey
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:04 PM

    The slaughter of children in the concentration camp they have created will be remembered, they have more in common with Nazī Germany than they wish to admit.

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    Mute Jon Doesn't
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:39 PM

    As usual, Israel blame everyone else for their phuck ups.

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    Mute Corey Dalton
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:01 PM

    Israel have killed 1% of the population of Gaza. Pro rata that would correspond to 56,000 people in republic of Ireland. With maybe 250,000 injured, many seriously with horrific burns and amputations in many cases. Can you even imagine that level of horror? I think the Presidents contribution quite reasonable in this context.

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    Mute Fran Ken
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    Dec 29th 2023, 8:05 AM

    @Corey Dalton: according to Hamas, who can miraculously give the exact death count when a missile hits a building.

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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Dec 29th 2023, 8:17 AM

    @Fran Ken: Gazeins could end this today if they made Hamas stop murdering and threatening annihilation of Israel’s population.

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    Mute Donal Desmond
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    Dec 29th 2023, 2:28 PM

    @thomas molloy: That would mean the occupied people of Palestine would have to agree to the safety of the terrorist Israeli occupation forces..A bit like the resistance movements in Occupied countries during WW2 guaranteeing the safety of the Facist forces… The same Facist Terrorist state of Israel.

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    Mute char shill
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    Dec 29th 2023, 4:33 PM

    @thomas molloy: You know very well that nothing the Palestinian people do or don’t do is going to change the stated intent of the extremists in israeli government and population, to erase Gaza and her people from the map.

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    Mute char shill
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    Dec 29th 2023, 4:42 PM

    @Fran Ken: Hamas historically has always given correct numbers, or even under estimated numbers of deaths. They don’t need to lie or exaggerate. Unlike the Occupation.

    12
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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:54 PM

    I saw a report today where surgeons in Gaza are doing amputations on kids with no anesthetics.

    212
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    Mute Mr Sparkle
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:50 PM

    @Jerry Bomber: It’s only terrorism if you don’t have planes according to you, even when they both blatantly target civilians

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    Mute ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:59 PM

    @Jerry Bomber: Nothing to do with the Israeli embargoes on medicines then?

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    Mute Donal Desmond
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:08 PM

    @Jerry Bomber: Surely you will recall the hundreds of thousands of people of the Jewish people who were held in the Warsaw Ghetto .When they rose up against the Facist regime that sought to exterminate them..they were called hero’s….Yet when the people of Palestine rise up ..They are called terrorists…Bit ironic when the State of Israel has now become the Facist state that once sought to exterminate them.

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    Mute rory Mcgovern
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:35 PM

    Trying to justify his 5000 euro a week by mouthing off on a situation which is not his business. Like Mary Robinson he thinks that he is world stateman. One should never forget that he was elected with great help from RTE contribution on the night before the people went to vote. I hope in 2 years time RTEwill be neutral in its coverage of our next Presidential election.

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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Dec 28th 2023, 11:05 PM

    @rory Mcgovern: tis everyone’s business to call out genocide.

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    Mute Joe Bergin
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    Dec 29th 2023, 8:27 AM

    @rory Mcgovern: what a ridiculous comment. Delete it.

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    Mute Gary O'Connell
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    Dec 30th 2023, 5:51 AM

    @rory Mcgovern: The situation is his business. The slaughter is everyone’s business! The President speaks for me!

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    Mute John finn
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:23 PM

    Unbelievable, Israel apologize for using the incorrect munition killing 86 people at the maghazi camp And for America showing there true colours standing with these low lif e,. Ado lf Hi tler be so proud of Israel

    215
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    Mute Kieran Menon
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:37 PM

    Israel, the bully that cries out when met with criticism or retaliation.

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    Mute Jack Moss
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:18 PM

    He was very quiet when 270 thousand people died in Yemen . Turkey has also being bombing the Kurds in N Iraq for the last two months . He suffers from selective memory syndrome .

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    Mute Mr Sparkle
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:49 PM

    @Jack Moss: Lovely bit of whataboutism

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    Mute Dan Breen
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:03 PM

    In all my life life I’ve never seen anything so horrific, I woke up last night thinking of the 10,000 murdered children and I just didn’t know if I wanted to go on living in such an awful world.

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    Mute Jb Walshe
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:29 PM

    The Jews have turned into nazis

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    Mute Corey Dalton
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:38 PM

    @Jb Walshe: The Nazis used certain terms which resonate very strongly with the current situation in the Middle East. Check out the following: Lebensraum, ubermensch, untermensch, endloesung (final solution)

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    Mute Jb Walshe
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    Dec 28th 2023, 10:48 PM

    @Corey Dalton: this is how it is now as the world watches on…disgraceful stuff

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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Dec 28th 2023, 11:06 PM

    @Jb Walshe: *Zionists.

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    Mute Corey Dalton
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    Dec 28th 2023, 11:14 PM

    @Setanta O’Toole: Yes, an important distinction. There are Jews who are anti Zionist and I applaud them. Having said that, there are no Christians or Muslims in the Israeli government. And there never will be.

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    Mute Tríona Commode
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:21 PM

    Higgins should’ve cut through the bureaucrats and written to Santa directly for aid.

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    Mute Patricia Mc Namara
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:46 PM

    @Tríona Commode: wise up.

    115
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    Mute Tríona Commode
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    Dec 28th 2023, 8:49 PM

    @Patricia Mc Namara: Calm down.

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    Mute Tríona Commode
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:18 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: Now that you mention it, I think the safest bet would’ve been to pray to Allah five times a day facing east.

    15
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    Mute Tríona Commode
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    Dec 28th 2023, 9:46 PM

    @Jimmy Wallace: Lovely. Keep practising and you’ll learn how to ride without the stabilisers in no time.

    20
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    Mute John Richard Walsh
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    Dec 29th 2023, 4:47 AM

    We have just had the feast day of the innocents who were slaughtered by Herod. Sadly, a new Herod now reigns in Jerusalem and, 2,000 years later, we’re having another slaughter of the innocents. As referenced in a verse of Coventry Carol:
    Herod the King in his raging
    Charg-ed he hath this day
    His men of might in his own sight
    All young children to slay.

    Sadly, nothing has changed in 2,000 years and man’s inhumanity to man continues unabated.

    64
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    Mute Paul
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    Dec 29th 2023, 7:42 AM

    Doesn’t Michael have more important things to do, like evicting students from his property portfolio so he can sell at massive profits again?

    Good old Learjet Liberals!

    36
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    Mute Nestor
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    Dec 29th 2023, 2:49 PM

    It is great to see our President speaking out for decency and humanity.

    26
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    Mute Vincent Hickey
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    Dec 29th 2023, 12:27 PM

    Great to see that Israel is being called out for its Genocide and ethnic cleansing. The Zionist lobby body have American Congress bought and manipulated for years now every American president was bought and paid for by the zionists. There is no democracy in america

    40
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    Mute Paul
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    Dec 29th 2023, 7:45 AM

    Funny how no one seems to care about the 15000 African children that die every day of every week of every month.

    Not woke enough for our virtue signalling lefties I suppose.
    Or maybe it’s a skin colour thing?

    37
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    Mute Setanta O'Toole
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    Dec 29th 2023, 10:43 AM

    @Paul: palestinians aren’t white either.

    27
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    Mute Paul Kavanagh
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    Dec 29th 2023, 10:01 AM

    He actually thinks his voice matters. Deluded, pointless man.

    23
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    Mute char shill
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    Dec 29th 2023, 4:23 PM

    Good man Higgins.
    Genocide is not complicated, and it is never right, yet so few leaders speak out against the utter inhumanity of the Occupation in this regard. They pull up deck chairs to watch the bombs rain down, they actually enjoy the death, extremist AF.

    11
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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Dec 30th 2023, 8:56 AM

    Michael D, the people’s president who voted for a tax amnesty for wealthy tax dodgers at a time when PAYE workers were paying 60% tax on their wages!

    6
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