NEW YORK (VINnews) — Irish prime minister Leo Varadker has been lambasted by numerous sources from Israel and abroad after he tweeted about the release of Emily Hand (a 9-year-old Irish national abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Beeri into Gaza after her stepmother was murdered and returned in the second stage of the prisoner exchange) but failed to mention the circumstances of her abduction. Varadker simply said that she is an “innocent girl who was lost and has now been found and returned.”
Varadker wrote that “This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family. An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”
Emily Hand reunites with her father. Her mother died when she was 2 and her stepmother was murdered by Hamas on October 7th.
Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen responded angrily to Varadker’s tweet:
“Mr. Prime Minister,
It seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check!
Emily Hand was not “lost”, she was kidnapped by a terror organization worse than ISIS that murdered her stepmother.
Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas, and you
LeoVaradkar are trying to legitimize and normalize terror.
Shame on you!”
Israel’s government spokesperson Eylon Levy also tweeted a response to Varadkar’s post and remarking, stating that it typified Ireland’s passive approach to the entire hostage situation.
“This is how you describe a little girl who went missing during a stroll in a forest, then gets discovered by a friendly hiker,” Levy wrote. “Not a girl brutally abducted by death squads that brutally massacred her neighbors and stepmother.”
“But this explains the extent of Ireland’s contribution: prayers,” he added.
Further criticism was levelled by North West Friends of Israel, a grassroots movement in the northwest of the United Kingdom supporting Israel, which tweeted that “Emily Hand was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists who murdered many of her friends & neighbours.”
“She was released NOT because of your prayers but due to the military pressure IDF dealt to Hamas – the same pressure you dislike so much.”
Source: VosIzNeias
