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Defence Forces Deployment

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2017

Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Questions (34, 35, 55, 68)

Lisa Chambers

Question:

34. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on the Defence Forces' participation in the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32510/17]

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Mick Wallace

Question:

35. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Question No. 7 of 29 March 2017, the details of the engagements he has had at UN level regarding the ongoing deployment of Irish peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, particularly regarding the merits of this operation and its long-term effects on the region; his views on whether the UNDOF peacekeeping mission could be facilitating the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation in the region, particularly in view of the calls from members of the Israeli Government to increase the Israeli settler population in the Golan Heights by 100,000 over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32521/17]

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Mick Wallace

Question:

55. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if there has been or will be a change in the mandate of the peacekeeping force posted in the Golan Heights, particularly in view of the recent ongoing fighting between Syria and Israel in the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32520/17]

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Clare Daly

Question:

68. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will begin the process of withdrawing Defence Forces personnel from the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights in view of recent comments by a person (details supplied) and given that their presence is being used by Israel to legitimise its annexation. [32347/17]

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Oral answers (13 contributions)

It appears from reports we are hearing back from the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights that a full-scale offensive is taking place in Quneitra. Since I tabled this question last week, it has emerged in media reports that heavy machine gun fire from the Syrian civil war has landed in the Irish base in the Golan Heights and that mortar rounds have hit just outside the camp. I understand that during five days of intense local fighting, Irish troops were forced to take cover repeatedly in their base. Will the Minister of State provide an update on what is happening there? Will he brief us on what is being done by the Department and by military management?

Two of these questions are in the name of Deputy Wallace and one of them is in the name of Deputy Clare Daly. I will allow them to ask supplementary questions.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 34, 35, 55 and 68 together. The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF, was established on 31 May 1974 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 350 (1974) following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights in May 1974. UNDOF was established to maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, to supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the areas of separation and limitation, as provided in the May 1974 agreement on disengagement. Since 1974, the mandate of UNDOF has been renewed every six months, most recently in June 2017. In a recent report on UNDOF, the UN Secretary General stated that the presence of UNDOF in the area continues to be essential and recommended that the Security Council should extend the mandate of UNDOF for a further period of six months until 31 December 2017. The Syrian Arab Republic gave its assent to the proposed extension and Israel also expressed its agreement. A contingent of the Permanent Defence Force has been deployed to UNDOF on the Golan Heights since 2013. The contingent operates in the role of a quick reaction force. The current contingent - the 55th Infantry Group - deployed to UNDOF in early April and the next contingent is due to deploy in October.

I had the privilege of visiting Irish personnel based in the Middle East in March 2017. I met the UNDOF head of mission and force commander, Major-General Shanker Menon of India, as well as Irish personnel deployed to the mission headquarters. It was a valuable opportunity to be briefed on the mission and to see at first hand the challenges facing troops in the mission area. On 26 April 2017, while representing Ireland at an informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Malta, I met the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix. We agreed that the presence of the UNDOF mission remains an important element in ensuring the continuing ceasefire between Israel and Syria and in the wider Middle East region. The valuable contribution the Defence Forces are making to this mission was acknowledged. The UN Under-Secretary General took note of the security concerns I outlined to him regarding the return of troops to the area of separation. Pending the full return of UNDOF to the area of separation, UNDOF has continued to maintain a credible presence in the Golan Heights in line with its mandate. On 14 November 2016, UNDOF completed the initial phase of the incremental return of the mission to Camp Faouar on the Syrian side of the area of separation where Fijian and Nepalese troops are now based. The incremental return to the area of separation will be considered in the light of the security assessment and other required assurances. As with all missions, deployments and developments in the UNDOF area of operation are kept under ongoing review.

Will I get back in for a second supplementary question?

In one instance, the mortar fire landed so close to the Irish base that it shook the ground and Irish troops thought they had been hit. Informed sources are saying that fighting in the area has always been a constant.

However, the scale of what happened last week was unprecedented. Much of the fighting has centred on Quneitra, less than 2 km from the Irish camp in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Informed security sources say that at no time were the Irish camp or UN personnel deliberately targeted. However, the fighting was so close to the Irish camp and so intense that many Irish military personnel are concerned at what they perceive as a lack of response from the Government. I am concerned that there has been no publicity about this and no official response. I am also concerned that there has not been more briefing on it and that it was not acknowledged, particularly in light of the scale of the offensive action that took place. A number of our troops in the area are clearly concerned about this matter. Why has the Minister of State not briefed the Dáil about this before now and why did he wait to be prompted? What measures are the Departments of Defence and Foreign Affairs and Trade taking in light of what we have learned? Has the Minister spoken to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney?

The rationale behind the original UNDOF deployment to the Golan Heights in 1974 was to maintain the ceasefire between the Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement. Today, we are facilitating the ongoing illegal occupation of the Golan Heights by Israel. The Israeli Government recently called for an increase in settlements by 100,000 over the next five years. This is scary. We have watched what Israel has got away with in Palestine but is it going to get away with the same behaviour in the Golan Heights? The Israelis have taken advantage of the civil war in Syria to strengthen their position there and the fact that our troops are there makes it look as if we are facilitating them. Our forces could be better deployed in other regions. No one doubts the quality of our forces and the good work they do but we and a lot of other people think they would be better used in other regions.

The situation is deteriorating and even the UN General Assembly has called on the Israeli Government to stop settlements and repressive measures against the Syrian population of the Golan Heights. Has the Minister of State had any talks at UN level about the fact that the situation is deteriorating and growing more problematic? The days of us being out there should be behind us and we should move on. There is a lot of trouble coming down the tracks and we are only facilitating Israel's illegal occupation.

It is an odd type of ceasefire when it is an established fact that Israel has been giving material aid to ISIS, the al-Nusra Front and others in the Golan Heights. I speak of the very same al-Nusra Front from which Irish Defence Forces personnel sheltered for five days and which kidnapped 44 Filipino peacekeepers in the region three years ago. The most recent UNDOF report on the Golan Heights, released in May, pointed out that large artillery weapons had been observed within the 10-km ceasefire line, multiple rocket launching systems and Iron Dome systems had been seen within the 20-km ceasefire lines and there had been multiple violations of the ceasefire. It is quite clear that the ceasefire has been and continues to be used by Israel as a cover for its annexation of the region. The public comments by the Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu, to that effect last month, when he said the Golan Heights would always be theirs, lends weight to that assertion. We are legitimising annexation and there should be a withdrawal.

I answered questions from the media on this last week. I was asked a number of frank questions and I responded to them. No member of the Opposition contacted me to outline their concerns about what happened last week. Our ability to protect the health and safety of our personnel is my paramount concern when considering any mission and it is policy and practice to ensure that Defence Forces personnel serving overseas are appropriately trained and equipped with the most modern and effective equipment to carry out their missions. Unfortunately, no mission is without danger. I am assured by the Chief of Staff that appropriate security measures are in place for Defence Forces personnel serving with the United Nations disengagement observer group. During my visit to the UNDOF mission area earlier this year, I met the head of mission and the force commander, Major-General Menon, who briefed me on the ongoing situation and the challenges facing the mission. I was also briefed by, and voiced my concerns to, the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping when I met him in Malta at a European Council meeting.

I tabled a question last week but the offensive operations started a number of weeks ago. I assume the Minister of State would have been aware of them before last week. There is concern that the US Government is undermining the UN missions on which its personnel serve in both Syria and neighbouring Lebanon, at a time when the security situation is already incendiary. The US envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, said on a visit to the Middle East last month that the UN had bullied Israel for too long, and welcomed the reduction in funding from the US Government to the UN. I have also heard reports that when Ms Haley was visiting a position in north Israel, at the behest of the Israeli Defence Force, IDF, the Irish general in charge, Mick Beary, of the United Nations interim force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was invited. However, the IDF then sought to undermine him, and the mission, in front of Nikki Haley.

There is concern in the Defence Forces that more is not being done on the international stage by governments to raise the deteriorating security situation and to defend our people and our position. Has the Minister of State raised any concerns at Government level about this? Has he pressed the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, to raise it with the US through diplomatic channels? In light of his experience as Minister of State at the Department of Defence, he will know the value of UN peacekeeping missions and our participation in them. There is concern that Ireland is not pressing the UN about the impression that the Americans are undermining UNDOF and UNIFIL, which involve some 600 Irish personnel. At the very least, I ask the Minister of State and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, to write a strongly worded letter to the ambassadors of both countries to express our dissatisfaction at the clear undermining of UN missions and our personnel in the area.

According to al-Marsad, the Arab human rights centre in the Golan Heights, the 23,000 Israeli settlers in Golan occupy 95% of the land, leaving just 5% for the 25,000 Syrians living there. In 1989 only 600 Israelis lived there but now there are 23,000 and there are plans to expand further. Given the recent reduction in US funding to the UN, is the US undermining UN missions? Does the Government have any concerns about this? What Israel is doing in the Golan Heights is reminiscent of what it has been doing in Palestine and we should have no hand, act or part in it. It is time we took our troops home or put them somewhere else where they would be better served.

The civil war in Syria is being actively used by Israel to make its hold on the Golan Heights permanent. That is in flagrant breach of the UNDOF mission. By keeping our troops there, we are legitimising that illegal act. The last time we raised this matter, the Minister of State said he did not recognise Israeli sovereignty in the region. He might not, but it is an absolute fact and that is not much comfort to the 25,000 Syrians crammed into five overcrowded villages, while Israeli settlers have spread themselves out over 95% of the land. It is not going to stop Israel hoovering up the profits from a recent massive oil find in the area either. By staying there, not only are we legitimising what is happening, we are also standing by and facilitating them doing it. It has been no secret that the Israeli Prime Minister has been lobbying to legitimise this annexation and by staying we are undoing a lot of the good work that Irish peacekeepers have done in the past. There are many other places around the world where our personnel could be much better and more appropriately deployed.

I will state again that no mission comes without its dangers and I do not believe it would be in the best interests of peacekeeping to pull members of the Irish Defence Forces out of the Golan Heights. I believe they are doing very important work there on an ongoing basis. To respond to Deputy Chambers, I received a brief from the general staff on the ongoing situation regarding UNDOF and have asked the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, General Brennan, to keep me abreast of all ongoing situations out there.

Deputy Wallace stated that the US is undermining UN peacekeeping efforts. Ireland is absolutely, steadfastly committed to UN peacekeeping, and this informs our interactions with all partners at the UN and elsewhere regarding the issue the Deputy has raised. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that during the discussions on the UN's budget for peacekeeping operations in 2017-18, Ireland's priority was to ensure that those engaged in peacekeeping operations have the resources available to carry out their mandates fully, safely and effectively. I have been assured by the Chief of Staff that our own personnel are equipped to carry out safely and partake in any mission in which they are involved.

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