Much has been written and reported on the mass murder committed by Israel in Qana yesterday but it was very interesting to hear the Israel ambassador to Ireland on Radio One this morning. During an interview with Tom McGurk he not only condoned and defended the massacre, as one would expect, but indirectly implied that the events in south Lebanon were tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

I'm sure his remarks were completely unintentional. But when pushed by McGurk as to whether he thought it fair that the poorest and most vulnerable people in Lebanon should be forced to flee their homes on foot without food or water in advance of their villages being destroyed, he said: "in order to save your life you must do everything necessary" (sic). Incredilbly he referred to the fact that we had seen similar scenes in Europe in the last century - obviously completely unaware of the irony in his statement. McGurk and Philip Boucher Hayes who was on the program to highlight the Lebanese Orphan appeal were both genuinely dismayed at the ambassador's comments, as I'm sure were many right-minded listeners who had tuned in.

POSTSCRIPT: Listen to the interview itself here. Tune in at 31 mins.

tags:Middle East

Published by Padraig.