The Irish government has been threatened with legal action over its alleged military trade and co-operation with Israel.
A legal opinion produced by human rights lawyer Darragh Mackin for campaign group Uplift argues that the government may be at risk of violating a number of domestic, EU and international laws, including failing in their obligations under the Genocide Convention.
A letter hand-delivered by Uplift to the Department of the Taoiseach yesterday calls on the government to immediately suspend all military and dual-use trade with Israel, as well as the alleged use of Irish airspace for the transport of weapons to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
If the government fails to do so within 14 days, the group says it will proceed to issue judicial review proceedings in the High Court.
Mr Mackin, director of Phoenix Law and advisor to the campaign, said: “The EU laws around trading military technology and equipment with countries who commit human rights abuses are quite clear. As are Ireland’s obligations under the Genocide Convention.
“The increased level of military-related trade over the past year, as well as the use of Irish airspace for transporting arms to the IDF, puts the Irish government at risk of violating a number of national and international laws.
“Many of these laws also apply to other EU countries like Germany and France.”
Brian Cuthbert of Uplift added: “The situation is insane when you stop to think about it.
“On the one hand, Micheál Martin promised to intervene in South Africa’s ICJ case accusing Israel of genocide, while on the other hand he’s doubled the amount of money his Department are paying Israeli state-owned arms companies. You can’t have it both ways.”
He added: “People all over Ireland have been trying desperately to bring an end to the horrific violence in Gaza.
“The Irish government has been benefitting from a lot of this goodwill on the global stage but when it comes to taking real action they’ve actually gone and increased their military trade with Israel. It’s truly sickening.”