Pro-Palestine protest march in Dublin calls for end to Gaza conflict

Pro-Palestine protest march in Dublin calls for end to Gaza conflict

Large crowds turned out for a pro-Palestine protest in Dublin calling for an end to the conflict between Israel and Gaza.

People marched from the Garden of Remembrance to Merrion Square, where a rally was held.

The “National Demonstration for Palestine” was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other civil society organisations.

Political parties, trade unions, students and community groups from across the country were among those who took part in the protest.

The organisers said the aim of the demonstration was “to show the Irish Government the depth and breadth of support that exists for Palestinian freedom in Irish society and to push them to act accordingly”.

They also called for “an immediate ceasefire and end to all Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank, the immediate lifting of the siege of Gaza including allowing humanitarian aid in”.

There were chants of “free, free Palestine” and “ceasefire now”. Protesters demanded the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.

The demonstration stopped for a time outside the Department of Foreign Affairs on St Stephen’s Green as it made its way around the capital.

Many of the participants in the march staged a sit-down protest on the road outside.

At one stage, as protestors passed the building, red paint was thrown on the front walls and windows of the department.

Today was the sixth Saturday in a row that protestors took to the streets of the capital to express their opposition to the Gaza conflict.

Chairperson of the IPSC Zoe Lawlor said “We just want to show solidarity” and she said “we cannot be silent while this is going on.”

Ms Lawlor said the demonstrators are demanding that Ireland and other countries take action against Israel.

She said the IPSC is calling on the Irish Government to sanction Israel and to enact the occupied territories bill.

Ms Lawlor also said the Government should “refer Israel to the International Criminal Court for war crimes” and also “cut diplomatic relations” and she said EU trade agreements with the country should be ended.

One of the protestors Ciarán Tierney said he made the journey up from Galway to participate in the march.

He said: “So many people in Ireland feel that there has to be a ceasefire now, the loss of innocent life is incredible.”

Another demonstrator, Egyptian native Mohammed Soebhi, said he and his family will continue to take to the streets “until the war stops.”

He said: “We come from Derry, up the North, and we will travel as far as we can to support them and to show them solidarity and to show them that we’re here for you.”

Doctors were also in attendance to show their support for their counterparts in Gaza.

Dr Angie Skuce from Dublin said: “I don’t see how I could not be here.”

She said: “People like me are doing caesarean sections in corridors” and “trying to amputate limbs without anaesthetic and clean children’s wounds with vinegar.”

“It just has to stop, the killing has to stop, the maiming and destruction has to stop and people like me, healthcare workers and aid workers, need to be allowed to do their job in safety.”

Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham who took part in the march said: “We’re here to stop the violence and call for a political solution” and he said it is important that people take to the streets “to speak up for the Palestinian people”.

“We’re sick of it and we need it to stop,” he added.

In Belfast, thousands of people also took part in a pro-Palestine protest.

They marched from Writers Square to the offices of Northern Secretary Chris Heaton Harris in the city centre.

The rally heard demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Demonstrators carried clotheslines hung with baby clothes to signify the children who died in the conflict.

The rally and march lasted for around two hours. It was also organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Commissioner gave ‘Irish view’ to von der Leyen

European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said that she had articulated to Ursula von der Leyen the “Irish view” of European Commission President’s initial backing of Israel following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict.

Speaking at a Fine Gael special conference in Maynooth, Co Kildare Ms McGuinness said the Irish position was “fully understood”.

But she added: “I understand where the president was coming from in relation to the initial horror of what happened to those young people in Israel.

“The outrage in Israel is fully understandable, but it should not be matched by matched by death and destruction in Gaza.”

She added that “hard and all as it is to imagine there has to be discussion around peace and a two-state solution”.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland was taking a “very active role politically” on Gaza and had increased its funding to humanitarian agencies on the ground.

“We are calling for a ceasefire, we are one of the first countries to call for a ceasefire,” he said.

“That has to be observed by all sides not just Israel. It has to be observed by Hamas who started this phase of the conflict and by Islamic Jihad as well.”

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane has said nobody is safe in Gaza and that the massacre, pain and slaughter have to stop.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, he said that he wanted to see a peaceful resolution but also felt the need to call out the actions of Israel, to take action and refer Israel to the International Criminal Court.