Israeli ambassador says people must distinguish between Hamas and Palestinians

People who try to justify the attack by Hamas on Israel or say there might be reasons why it is okay are not helping the Palestinian cause, the Israeli ambassador to Ireland has said.

Dana Erlich said she was aware of online comments by some Irish politicians that the Palestinian people had a right to “defend themselves” but she believed people could support the Palestinian cause without seeking to justify what is happening in Israel.

“You can support the Palestinian people but not coming out against Hamas and making a distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people, then you are not helping the Palestinian cause. If you want to help the Palestinian cause then hold Hamas accountable and responsible for what they are doing,” she said to The Irish Times.

Some of the atrocities that have been committed since Saturday by Hamas were of a type that had only been seen before on Isis videos, she said. The majority of the members of one kibbutz – Nir Oz – had been “butchered” on Saturday.

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Ms Erlich said Israel was appreciative of the firm and clear message from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin, as well as the international condemnation of the attack. It also appreciated the flowers and messages of sympathy that had been received by the embassy in Dublin.

What is clear, she said, is that the motive for the attack by Hamas was not the wellbeing of the Palestinian people. “Our hearts go out to the Palestinians in Gaza because they didn’t choose this.”

“Hamas do not care about the wellbeing or the economic situation, the life, or the education of the Palestinian people. This has been proven time and time again [and] if anybody had any doubts, I don’t think Saturday leaves any doubt.”

It was possible, she said, that the attack was launched because the world was “moving on and normalising relations with Israel and they are one of the few that is holding back and refusing even to recognise the Jewish Israeli state”.

One of the biggest Arab countries in the region, Saudi Arabia, was in negotiation with Israel about possible normalisation of relations and perhaps this was part of the motive for Hamas, the ambassador said.

It has been known for years that Hamas has the backing and support of Iran and the extent to which it was involved with the attack is unclear, she said.

“What we do know is that [Hamas was] not thinking of the benefit of their people and they were not thinking of what will happen to the people of Gaza.”

People who were urging Israel to use proportionate force in its response should also remind Hamas, she said, that they are responsible “for everything that will happen, it is because of them, and they can stop it”.

She said the hearts of the Israeli people went out to the Palestinians in Gaza. Both sides were hurting because of Hamas and its actions. Hamas needed to be made to understand that it is isolating itself through its actions, she said.

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Asked if the decision had yet been made to move troops into Gaza, Ms Erlich said she did not know and that the decision had a lot of implications.

“We do not think just of our population but also what does it mean for the Palestinian population there. So there are a lot of things to consider.”

Ms Erlich said it was possible for the Palestinians in Gaza to seek safety while still inside the enclosed territory. People knew the buildings that Hamas operated from and could move to other areas “to make the Hamas leadership vulnerable and easier to target”.

Hamas knew, she said, that every potential target is analysed by the Israeli military as to the likely casualties should it be attacked. There were “very strict rules” governing these decisions involving lawyers “who sit with them observing each target”.

[ Ireland failed to secure EU statement against Israeli escalation after Hamas attack ]

Hamas seeks to abuse this Israeli policy by putting their operations underneath hospitals and schools and mosques and hiding behind the civilian population “because they know we will do everything in our power to avoid hurting them”.

Ms Erlich said she had taken up her new role in Ireland less than two months ago and knew that some people saw a similarity between Irish history and the situation of the Palestinian people, but she believed there were more differences than there were similarities between the two situations.

The leadership in Gaza could use the international aid it gets to provide healthcare and education for the Palestinian people instead of using them as human shields, but chose not to do so.

They used the people in the way they did because they knew “we will not shoot or fire at anything indiscriminately in their territory”.