Israel slams new Irish PM for ignoring hostages as he addressed Gaza in inaugural speech

The Foreign Ministry slams new Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris for not mentioning the hostages held by Hamas as he addressed the Gaza war in his inaugural speech, saying it continues Ireland’s anti-Israel and pro-Hamas policies.

“Simon Harris, the new Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland, chose to refer to the war in Gaza in his inaugural address but ‘forgot’ to mention the 133 Israeli hostages who have been rotting in Hamas tunnels for the past six months,” the ministry statement says.

Of the hostages abducted during the Hamas massacre on October 7, 129 remain in captivity in Gaza. In addition, two civilians and the bodies of two Israeli soldiers have been held for nearly a decade.

Harris was elected Ireland’s prime minister by a vote in parliament Tuesday, becoming at 37 the country’s youngest-ever leader.

Harris takes over as head of Ireland’s three-party coalition government from Leo Varadkar, who announced his surprise resignation last month. Harris, who served as higher education minister in Varadkar’s government, was the only candidate to replace him as head of the center-right Fine Gael party.

“The Taoiseach joined Micheál Martin, his Minister for Foreign Affairs, in planning to award additional prizes to terrorism, in the form of an ICJ declaration of intervention on the side of South Africa, the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization, and the possible recognition of a Palestinian state in the future,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry adds.

“After the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and even after the war crimes, the crimes against humanity and the sexual crimes that were committed, and are still being committed, by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women and men, there are those in Ireland who persist on being on the wrong side of history,” the statement says, vowing that Israel will continue to do all it can to protect its citizens and bring home the hostages.

AP contributed to this report