Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Millions of people across the world have taken to the streets in cities to show their solidarity and absolute horror at what has gone on in the last six weeks in Gaza. Last Saturday, more than 50,000 people went on the streets in Dublin and Belfast to show their solidarity. A whole cohort of people are becoming politicised by what is going on in Gaza. Not only do they see the hypocrisy of the Western powers but also the hypocrisy of the Israeli state. They see that their governments are complicit in their silence when it comes to condemnation of the Israeli state. That is not only now but also in the past. The only comparison I can make in my lifetime was 2003, when millions upon millions of people came out in solidarity with people of Iraq because of what would be subjected on them. We saw 1 million people killed by the American military machine. To those who somehow believe Israel was the beacon of democracy in the sea of despots, I ask what democracy subjects the people of Palestine to 70 years of apartheid? What democracy kills 14,000 in the space of six weeks? What democracy kills 5,000 children? Is there any question? What democracy does that?

Israel has to be held to account for its war crimes. We have said many times Israel must be held to account, whether economically, diplomatically or militarily. Last night, I spoke about the deal that we have with the Defence Forces. It has bought €6 million of Israeli defence equipment. The Tánaiste got kind of tied up about why we should not stop that. Ireland should stop that immediately and Ireland should support the BDS campaign. The boycott and the isolation of Israel has to be re-energised. It was done to apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, so why can it not be done now? Across the world, workers have collectively taken action against the terrible crimes of Israel. In Belgium, port workers have refused to handle Israeli goods. Imagine the kind of knock-on effects across the world, individually and collectively by trade unions refusing to handle Israeli goods? Because it seems that the governments of this country and others will do nothing whatsoever. It is business as usual. Can the Tánaiste tell me that after everything that has happened in the past six weeks, it is business as usual? Come on. He knows it is not. We cannot treat Israel like a normal state. It is not a normal state. It subjects the Palestinian people to apartheid and it is a state of racism. The only way the State of Israel survives is the perpetual oppression of the Palestinian people and the perpetual sense of violence and brutality against them. The Palestinian people have a right to defend themselves and to challenge and resist occupation. We will always stand with the Palestinian people. It is so important that Ireland has a huge empathy and solidarity with the people of Palestine and with all oppressed people across the world. We must stand up for the people of Palestine. We have to show moral courage and principle. What is being done to the people is absolutely wrong and we must hold Israel to account.

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