As Israeli Tanks Take Aim at Irish Peacekeepers, Weapons Fly Illegally Over Irish Territory
Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon acting as peacekeepers
The story below is being co-published with our colleagues at The Ditch, a non-profit investigative news outlet in Ireland which has been tracking the illegal flow of weapons through Irish airspace and Irish airports. With Irish peacekeepers now being menaced by Israeli troops invading Lebanon, the illegal facilitation of the arms flow takes on heightened meaning.
At least two illegal flights bringing weapons to the Israeli military travelled through Irish territory after the Israeli army pointed a tank at Irish peacekeepers in a show of aggression. Another flight brought weapons to the Israeli military just ahead of the confrontation.
Though Ireland has 379 troops in Lebanon on peacekeeping duties, the Irish government hasn’t indicated it will seek to stop these illegal flights. Tánaiste Micheál Martin—the second-highest-ranking politician in Ireland—suggested last week these airlines travelled over Ireland without diplomatic clearance so they could save fuel.
At least nine such flights have taken place since The Ditch first reported on the matter.
Previously unreported, one of these nine flights—a FedEx flight from Memphis to Liège Airport in Belgium—took place just five days before an IDF Merkava tank faced 35 Irish UNIFIL peacekeepers on the Israel-Lebanon border. UNIFIL has since said Israeli tanks “forcibly” entered one of its positions on Sunday morning, leaving two soldiers “seriously injured”. FedEx did not respond to a request for comment.
Transporting munitions of war through Irish sovereign airspace without clearance from the transport minister is an indictable criminal offense. The government says it hasn’t granted any such clearance for Israel-bound munitions since October 2023.
"People worldwide will be disappointed to learn to learn Ireland, one of the few Western countries that had shown some humanity over the past year, apparently is violating its own laws to facilitate the Israeli genocide," said Erik Sperling, executive director of the DC-based Just Foreign Policy. "How many laws can the U.S. and its allies break before we retire the phrase 'rules-based international order' for good."
‘His government has so far failed to take action’
The Ditch first reported on August 22 this year that Challenge Airlines had transported 7.6 tonnes of explosives from the US to Israel through Irish sovereign airspace. The report followed Taoiseach Simon Harris’s claim that, “No sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East.” (The taoiseach is an Irish version of a prime minister.)
It was later confirmed that this Challenge Airlines weapons flight was illegal when the Department of Transport told The Ditch it hadn’t granted a weapons exemption to the airline.
Since that report these arms flights to Israel through Irish airspace have continued.
From September 2 to last Wednesday, October 9, FedEx Express has illegally transported munitions of war from the US to Israel, over Ireland, on eight flights. Five of these FedEx flights were reported by The Ditch on October 4.
The packages on these FedEx flights were flagged as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) goods—referring to the legislation governing defense goods listed on the United States Munitions List.
On October 7, the day after the Israeli tank engaged Irish peacekeepers, a Silk Way West Airlines flight entered Irish sovereign airspace on its way to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, bringing the total of these illegal flights since The Ditch started its reporting to a minimum of nine.
This flight had more than three tonnes of munitions of war onboard for delivery to the Israeli military.
On October 11, Taoiseach Simon Harris, speaking in Washington DC, said Israeli attacks on UN positions were “really dangerous, despicable attacks on peacekeepers". On Sunday evening Harris released a statement, saying he will seek, along with other EU members, to protect UN peacekeepers in the face of Israeli aggression.
“I will be engaging with other EU member states serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon to ensure that our peacekeepers are fully protected and that the EU sends a strong signal of support for UNIFIL and for the UN more generally,” he said.
His government however has so far failed to take action against airlines illegally transporting weaponry over the state.
In late September Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the Department of Transport, the body responsible for granting permission for these flights, was investigating reports first published by The Ditch.
“We expect companies to abide by the basic rules. If you want to transport cargo through our sovereign airspace, you seek permission and then that gets considered by the Department of Transport. That’s the norm and we expect airlines to comply with that and if they don’t, there will be consequences,” he said.
Despite twice alerting the Irish government about these flights illegally trafficking munitions over Ireland, another FedEx flight carrying ITAR-marked goods for delivery to the Nevatim F-35 air base in Israel flew over Ireland last Wednesday.
The Irish Department of Transport has been contacted for comment.
Nearly all western leaders are empire puppets, or suffer consequences, since 9/11. "Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists." Except, an endless War on Terror exposed how real terrorists use UN vetoes, economic sanctions and worldwide drone programs - to kill children.
Must be a reason most Irish are dead set against colonialism, occupation and murder of innocents...
Rules and morality do not stand a chance when there is money to be made. Such is capitalism and the countries that give it a home. "Rules based international order"; yeah, right!