John Ellis
Ceist:40 Mr. Ellis asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts, if any, his Department has made to help bring about a ceasefire in Lebanon; and if so, if he will give details of these efforts. [8176/96]
Written Answers. - Lebanese Ceasefire.
John Ellis
Ceist:42 Mr. Ellis asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts, if any, made by his Department to exert international pressure on Israel to cease its action in Lebanon. [8175/96]
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 40 and 42 together.
The Government has been intensely involved in efforts to bring about an end to the current violence in Lebanon and northern Israel and to ensure the safety of the Irish UNIFIL battalion. This involvement stems, on the one hand, from our participation in the EU Troika and, on the other, from our role as a UNIFIL troop contributor. We have been in constant contact with the Irish UNIFIL contingent and have been closely monitoring the situation in south Lebanon. We have also monitored and contributed to diplomatic initiatives which have aimed to end the current crisis. We made national statements on 13 and 18 April and a statement to the UN Security Council on 20 April.
Ireland has been centrally engaged in the EU Troika in efforts to end the crisis. Over the past ten days a senior official in the Department of Foreign Affairs responsible for the Middle East has participated in a series of urgent Troika missions in Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Cairo and Tel Aviv.
The attack on the UNIFIL position at Qana, south Lebanon, was strongly condemned by the Taoiseach and in a statement issued by me on Thursday 18 April. An EU statement expressed shock and consternation at the attack and called for the violence to cease. Also following the Qana attack, a reinforced EU Troika mission, headed by Italian Foreign Minister Agnelli, met with a number of key parties to the conflict last weekend including Israeli Prime Minister Peres and Foreign Minister Barak, Lebanese President Haroui and Prime Minister Hariri, and President Assad of Syria. The Troika also visited wounded Lebanese civilians in two hospitals to express the EU's sympathy.
Throughout the past two weeks since the intensification of the violence, Ireland has been involved in discussions on the situation at the UN. We have ensured that priority is given to the safety of civilians and the UNIFIL contingent in all such discussions, as well as in the text of the Security Council resolution on the subject. Ireland's permanent representative at the UN addressed the Security Council on 18 April, expressing the Government's strong condemnation of the attack on the UNIFIL post at Qana and our deep concern at the deterioration in the situation in the Middle East, with the consequent strains on the peace process.
The Government has also been involved in bilateral contacts with parties to the dispute. On my instructions, the Israeli Ambassador was summoned to the Department on Tuesday, April 16 so that the Government's concerns could be made clear to his authorities. In that discussion, officials made clear our serious reservations about the proportionality of Israel's response to Hizbollah attacks. In particular, concerns were expressed for the safety of Lebanese civilians and UNIFIL personnel, and about attacks on Lebanese infrastructure.
The Israeli Ambassador was called in again on Friday, 19 April to express the Government's condemnation of the Qana attack and to reiterate once more our very grave concerns about attacks on Lebanese civilians and infrastructure, as well as the great importance we attach to the safety of UNIFIL. The Ambassador was told of the Government's clear view that the shelling should stop immediately.
I might mention that in the light of the Government's concern about the growing humanitarian crisis, I have allocated £200,000 emergency aid for Lebanon. This will be distributed through a number of channels including the International Channel of the Red Cross, UN agencies and our UNIFIL battalion.