'Robust' reply to Israeli settlement plan needed: McEntee

Ireland will "press for a stronger" international response against Israel, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has vowed, following the publication of a tender to construct 1,200 housing units in Palestine.

Minister McEntee criticised the Israeli government for publishing the tender as part of the E1 settlement project in the West Bank.

She was speaking after an Israeli man guarding Jewish settlers who marched into a Palestinian village shot dead a teenager.

The gunman also wounded a 70-year-old man, Palestinian officials said.

The shooting in the occupied West Bank village of Sa'ir followed the latest in what the Israeli military describes as "unauthorised hikes" by settlers, who enter the outskirts of villages in what Palestinians view as deliberate acts of intimidation.

In a statement today, Ms McEntee said the E1 settlement project poses a "fundamental threat" to a contiguous Palestinian state and, ultimately, undermines the possibilty of a two-state solution.

She said that all Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law and urged Israel's government to "immediately rescind this tender" and to end "all illegal settlement activity".

Ms McEntee said: "Recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian villages and communities, in some cases alongside Israeli Defence Forces, are utterly indefensible.

"They form part of an alarming and escalating pattern of violence by extremist settlers that is terrorising Palestinian communities. There must be accountability for these actions.

"This violence is taking place against the wider backdrop of ever-increasing illegal settlement construction and growing restrictions on the daily lives of Palestinians across the West Bank.

"As the occupying power, Israel has a duty to protect the Palestinian population under its control."

Ms McEntee also called on Israel to remove restrictions on the finances of the Palestinian Authority and release withheld tax clearance revenues.

She said: "The publication of this tender demands a clear and robust response.

"Ireland has taken action at domestic level and will continue to press for a stronger and more co-ordinated response from the European Union and the wider international community.

"The EU must be prepared to respond decisively to actions that violate international law and further erode the prospects for peace.

"Ireland will continue to advocate for meaningful international action and for a peaceful, secure and prosperous future for Palestinians, Israelis and the wider Middle East."

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all also condemned Israel's settlement policies in Palestinian territories and said they categorically rejected the E1 project.

"The Ministers call for immediate action to halt the "E1" settlement plan, rescind all measures taken in connection with it, and cease all settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory," they said in a joint statement, adding that the plan constituted a "dangerous escalation" that further advanced settlement expansion and annexation of Palestinian lands.

Israeli shoots dead Palestinian teen after settlers enter West Bank village

An Israeli man guarding a group of Jewish settlers who walked onto Palestinian village land today opened fire towards Palestinians who confronted them, killing a 17-year-old and wounding a 70-year-old man, officials said.

The incident in the occupied West Bank village of Sa'ir followed the latest in what the Israeli military describes as "unauthorised hikes" by settlers, who enter the outskirts of villages in what Palestinians view as an act of intimidation.

The Palestinian villagers threw rocks toward the settlers, "who were present in the area without advance authorisation", the Israeli military said in a statement. Some of the settlers were injured, it added.

"A security official opened fire in the area, and there are Palestinian casualties as a result of the shooting," the military said.

Palestinian officials said a 17-year-old boy died after being shot in the chest. The condition of the 70-year-old was not immediately clear.

The village of Sa'ir sits near the city of Hebron in a southern West Bank area under Palestinian Authority civil control and where Israelis are generally prohibited from entering.

The West Bank, home to 3m Palestinians and some 500,000 settlers, has seen a rise in settler violence and seizures of land and resources. A siege by settlers of homes in the village of Qusra this week drew international condemnation.

UN bodies and most countries view the settlements as illegal under international law regarding military occupations. Israel disputes this, citing biblical links to the area.

Overnight, in Jenin in the north, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man after raiding his home, Palestinian officials said. The military said soldiers shot him after he tried to stab them. No troops were injured, it added.

Israel PM calls Turkey's Erdogan 'antisemitic dictator'

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an "antisemitic dictator" today and vowed Israel would "continue to act forcefully against Turkey's attempts to destabilise the region".

It comes days after Syria accused Israel of bombing an air base in the country's north, a short drive from the Turkish border, with Mr Netanyahu later tacitly acknowledging the strike.

Mr Netanyahu had said Turkey was looking to establish a military presence there, but Turkey has denied any visit to the site.

It also follows an announcement by Turkey on Friday that it had sought an international arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, accusing him of "genocide" linked to Israel's interception of an aid flotilla for Gaza.

"Israel has long been unimpressed by Turkey's hypocrisy. Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator who massacred Kurds, supports the massacre of the Hamas terrorist organisation, and oppresses his own people," Mr Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

It added that Israel would "continue to act forcefully against Turkey's attempts to destabilise the region and against any threat to its security".