Israel\u2019s claim that a ceasefire deal to end the war in the Middle East does not include Lebanon must be immediately condemned by the Taoiseach and T\u00e1naiste, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.<\/p>\n
Senator Stephenson said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland has a long history of peacekeeping in Lebanon through our Defence Force\u2019s participation in UNIFIL.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite last night\u2019s ceasefire between the United States and Iran, the Israeli government has said it will continue its campaign of terror in Lebanon, violating countless international laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite this outrageous development, there has not been a statement from the Taoiseach or T\u00e1naiste on this matter – they must speak up for Lebanon and make our position clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur troops remain under significant pressure in Lebanon, which has developed into a warzone as Israel relentlessly escalates its aggression. It is clear that Israel views Lebanon like it views Gaza – a territory to be occupied and controlled. We must not allow this humanitarian crisis to intensify.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Sunday, at least 11 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including a four year-old child while more than one million people have been displaced. The developing parallels to Israel\u2019s genocide in Gaza are terrifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael\u2019s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has brazenly made these comparisons himself, saying that Israel should move its border with Lebanon up to the Litani River, comparing the crossing to the so-called Yellow Line in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government must make it immediately clear that Lebanon must be included in this ceasefire deal and that Israel must immediately end its occupation and decimation of Lebanon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Taoiseach must raise this issue at EU level, as well as push for long-overdue sanctions against Israel for its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, violence in the West Bank, and warmongering in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 8th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Israel\u2019s claim that a ceasefire deal to end the war in the Middle East does not include Lebanon must be immediately condemned by the Taoiseach and T\u00e1naiste, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. Senator Stephenson said: \u201cIreland has a long history of peacekeeping in Lebanon through our Defence Force\u2019s participation in UNIFIL. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408,529,797,718,814,641,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foreign-affairs","category-gaza","category-iran","category-israel","category-lebanon","category-patricia-stephenson","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n