Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)

When it comes to the Middle East, we cannot allow a nuclear-armed rogue state to spread chaos throughout the region. That is why Israel has to be stopped.

Chants from a music festival are not the story, the daily mass murder of civilians by Israel is the story. Since Tuesday morning, more than 100 Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, Israel bombed a café that it knew was being used by journalists – killing 24 people. This morning, Israel continues to lure starving men, women and children to their so-called aid points, where Israeli troops and mercenaries are gunning them down.

We saw the Israelis force doctors and patients out of a hospital in north Gaza at gunpoint, leaving premature babies to die alone in the intensive care ward. They murdered ambulance staff and medics and buried them in a mass grave. They even went so far as to crush the ambulances and to bury them too, to hide their crime.

This is a genocidal regime that is out of control. Its leader is a fugitive. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crime charges. Israel holds thousands of hostages. They are not prisoners because they have never been charged or convicted of any wrongdoing. It is a regime that has attacked and bombed four neighbouring countries since the start of this year.

The cowardice of many western governments to hold this lunatic state to account is making the world a more dangerous place for everybody. Why would anybody bother to adhere to international law when it is clear that it does not apply to countries that have the superpowers backing them up?

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