A joint delegation from the Inishowen and Donegal branches of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign have expressed their disappointment with the government’s position and lack of meaningful action on Palestine following a meeting with Minister Charlie McConalogue on Friday.
A spokesperson for the group said, “The government is trying to appear to be taking action while just making ineffectual statements, that Israel is simply ignoring all pleas to end their genocide and ethnic cleansing, and that the government must take concrete steps that will put real economic and political pressure on Israel.
“The lack of action and delaying tactics on the Occupied Territories Bill, the Arms Embargo Bill and the Central Bank facilitation of Israeli War Bonds leaves the government and Ireland open to complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the spokesperson added.
During their meeting with the Donegal Minister the group pointed that the International Court of Justice stated in July that all states have an obligation not to aid or assist Israel in its actions in the Occupied Territories and to ensure Israel complies with international and humanitarian law.
“Both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have expressed a commitment to upholding international and humanitarian law but that this has not been backed up by any effective action,” the spokesperson said.
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, has named Ireland as one of the countries facilitating Israel’s genocidal war by facilitating the shipment of weapons through Irish airports and airspace in her report, Genocide, A Collective Crime.
“She also highlighted that Ireland is one of the major countries supplying dual use technology to the Israeli military.”
“We call on the Minister to do everything he can to ensure the Occupied Territories Bill is passed for both goods and services by Christmas, that the passage of the Arms Embargo Bill is speeded up, and that the Central Bank does not renew the mandate for Israel’s War bonds next August,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Councillor Declan Meehan will table a motion at tomorrow’s plenary council meeting calling on the council to oppose the exclusion of trade in services in the Occupied Territories Bill.
The independent councillor will also ask the council to write to the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris TD, calling on him to include a ban on trade in services in the government’s proposed Occupied Territories Bill with immediate effect.
