Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

This time last year, just prior to Land Day, I warned the Taoiseach that the Israelis were preparing to attack the Great March of Return protests planned in Gaza. I do not think he even responded when I raised the issue. In advance of the protests I said it was likely that hundreds of Palestinians would be killed and that turned out to be the case. It is estimated that more than 200 Palestinians were killed and that a further 18,000 were injured. The conflict continued for months. Land Day is coming up at the end of this week and further protests are planned by the people of Gaza to vindicate their right under international law to return to the homes and villages from which they were expelled in 1948. Israel is already giving signs that it is going to do the same as it did last year. More innocent Palestinian blood will be shed as the Israelis seek to deny the Palestinians their rights under international law. At the same time, the US President, Mr. Donald Trump, in defiance of international law, has legitimised the illegal annexation by Israel of the Golan Heights which is sovereign Syrian territory. Was there a discussion at the EU-Arab League summit on the likelihood of the conflict escalating into violence again because of the justified and legitimate protests by the people of Gaza to vindicate their rights? Was there a discussion on the behaviour of President Trump in legitimising the annexation of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and his systematic denial of Palestinian rights? Are the Irish Government and the European Union going to do anything more than they did last year about the likely killing of innocent Palestinians?

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