Vol. 395 No. 3
38 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline the circumstances in which an Irish UNIFIL post was subjected to a mortar attack on 21 December 1989; if any protest was made to the Israeli Government concerning this attack; the number of occasions on which Irish troops have come under attack during the past six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
This incident occurred when a tank round fired by the de facto forces from their compound at Al Qantarah impacted within the Irish UNIFIL position on the southern outskirts of Qabrikha village. The round was one of a large number of tank, mortar and heavy machine gun rounds fired in response to an attack on the compound from the village of Al Qantarah by armed elements. The tank round destroyed a billet which had accommodation for five personnel. At the time of the impact, all personnel at the post, which is normally manned by eight members of the Permanent Defence Force, were in their bomb shelter due to previous mortar fire in the nearby area of Tulin.
The matter was the subject of a strong protest to the Israeli authorities by the Department of Foreign Affairs on 21 December 1989. It was also raised by the Irish Ambassador accredited to Israel in a meeting last week with the Israeli Minister for Defence.
In the last six months there have been 98 firings close to Irish positions in UNIFIL. These firings, while hazardous for Irish personnel, did not constitute attacks in the strict military sense. All of these incidents have been the subject of protest by the UNIFIL authorities to the Israeli Defence Forces.
