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Irish Post
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Post
Thousands attend National Demonstration for Palestine in Dublin
THOUSANDS of people descended on Dublin on Saturday to join the National Demonstration for Palestine. Organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), the event saw supporters march from the Garden of Remembrance to Molesworth Street near Dáil Éireann. It also heard speakers call for an end to the bombardment in Gaza, as well as criticising the Irish Government for its lack of action. Addressing those gathered, IPSC chairperson Zoë Lawlor said the 1948 Nakba, which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their land, was still ongoing. Speakers called for Palestinians to be given the right of return (Image: Sasko Lazarov / "We commemorate 77 years of the Nakba that never ended and reaffirm, as always, our total commitment to the Palestinian people's right of return," she said. "Return is their right, it is their will and it will happen." She added: "The Nakba is ongoing because of the decades of impunity granted to apartheid Israel by the international community — including this State. "This impunity has led to and enabled 19 months of genocide, of people starved, bombed, maimed, ethnically cleansed, incarcerated, tortured and 19 months where the rogue state of Israel has committed atrocity after atrocity against the Palestinians — openly, brazenly and with no consequence." 'Whatever action is necessary' Ronan Shortall of political news website The Ditch also accused the State of complicity as he spoke to those in attendance. He said no action had been taken by the State over reports that Irish airspace is used to transport weapons to Israel and that US military flights are allowed to land in Ireland en route to Tel Aviv. Shortall also accused the government of dragging its feet on the Occupied Territories Bill, ultimately rendering any government condemnation of Israel 'empty rhetoric'. "Don't listen to the condemnations without actions from government politicians because they're worth nothing to the children being slaughtered in Gaza every day," he said. The government was accused of dragging its feet on the Occupied Territories Bill (Image: Sasko Lazarov / "This government will silently continue to support Israel through their deeds and through their omissions. "It is up to us to take whatever action is necessary, including through civil disobedience, to challenge the State's complicity in Israel's evil genocide." On Friday, Táoiseach Micheál Martin signed a joint statement with six other leaders calling on Israel to end its blockade of aid into Gaza, calling it a 'man-made humanitarian catastrophe'. In its latest briefing on Sunday morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said a further 96 people had been killed in the preceding 24 hours, bringing the death toll to more than 53,000. It also said that following strikes on the Indonesian Hospital — the main such facility serving people in northern Gaza — all public hospitals in the region were now out of service. See More: Dublin, Gaza, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestine
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Large pro-Palestine march takes place through Dublin city centre
A large pro-Palestine demonstration took place in Dublin city on Saturday. The National Demonstration for Palestine was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and takes place every month. Organisers estimated that tens of thousands of people took part in the march. Speakers at the demonstration demanded an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter Gaza. READ MORE They also called on the Government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill – which would ban trade with the occupied Palestinian territories, but has been stalled for some time – and to stop weapons bound for Israel from going through Irish airspace. Saturday's demonstration marked the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba , which means catastrophe in Arabic and refers to the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. IPSC chairwoman Zoë Lawlor said the Nakba 'didn't end'. [ Israel-Palestinian dispute hinges on statehood, land, Jerusalem, refugees Opens in new window ] 'It's not a historical moment, it's something that's happening every second. The majority of the population in Gaza are already refugees, and now everyone there has been forcibly displaced from their homes, many of them multiple times. 'So it's really important that we commemorate that and uphold the Palestinian refugees' right of return, which is their legal, guaranteed and inalienable right.' Ms Lawlor said the Government needs to do more to help bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, instead of just 'rhetoric'. 'We're almost two years now into live-streamed genocide, which is just getting worse every day.' Noting that the National Famine Commemoration took place on Saturday, Ms Lawlor said Irish people have 'a generational obligation to Palestinians because our ancestors knew what colonial forced starvation was, and the trauma that caused'. Addressing the National Famine Commemoration in Kilmallock, Co Limerick, president Michael D Higgins said that people in Gaza are being subjected to 'forced starvation'. [ President Higgins says people in Gaza are being subjected to 'forced starvation' Opens in new window ] In his keynote speech, Mr Higgins said the UN Security Council had failed 'again and again' to respond to current conditions in Gaza and called on the UN General Assembly to step in. 'The General Assembly must speak and act if, in fact, the Security Council refuses to deal with the terrible famines that are now facing us in those parts of the world,' he said. More than 300 Gazans have been killed in Israeli strikes since Thursday, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest phases of bombardment since a truce collapsed in March. Israel's declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas which attacked Israeli communities on October 7th, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seizing some 250 hostages, according to Israel. Its military campaign has devastated the tiny, crowded enclave, pushing nearly all inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities. – Additional reporting: Reuters
