Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)

I add my voice to the many voices in this House and the thousands of the voices around the world condemning the Israeli Government on what is legitimately described as a calculated, ethnically-cleansing slaughter of the Palestinian people. Israel is demolishing their homelands and denying them their true birth rights. Before the eyes of the world, Israel is systematically demolishing Gaza zone by zone. It is flatting infrastructure, including homes, hospitals and water facilities, and using starvation as a weapon of war. It is flouting international humanitarian law and attempting to diminish the International Court of Justice. We are witnessing Israel’s propaganda machine in full motion when it declares that these are legitimate acts of war and a justification for killing innocent people, including women and children. A total of 53,528 are dead and more than 1,119 wounded, not to mention the killing of 166 journalists and a shocking 224 humanitarian workers. Some 300 UNRWA workers have also been murdered. The language of mainstream media, with words such as ground offensive or ground operation, is repeated instead of calling it what it actually is, namely, a full scale invasion by anyone’s moral compass.

The renowned Palestinian humanitarian rights activist, Mahmoud Nawaja, recently visited Leinster House. He said that complicity is the enemy of his people and that boycott and divestment are the two non-violent tactics anyone can use. For example, the Australian company funding Norwegian pension funds has divested from former Israeli military industries. What can we do and what should we do? As a nation, we must stand with the downtrodden and the oppressed. We must stand with the besieged Palestinian people against apartheid and genocide. We must introduce the occupied territories Bill now and stop being complicit in the use of Shannon Airport. The Government must stop acquiescing in the act of selling Israeli war bonds through the Irish Central Bank. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment must be held responsible for deploying dual licenses for products and components that are used for military purposes in the destruction of the Palestinian people. Government contracts with Israeli military companies must be forensically examined and transparent. The people of Palestine will always have the support of the Irish people. We say no to genocide, apartheid and colonisation.

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