Ireland condemns Israel's 'de facto annexation' of Palestinian lands
Saeed Pourreza
Press TV, London
Ireland’s parliament has voted to condemn Israel’s “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land but stopped short of requiring the government of expelling the Israeli ambassador through adopting an amendment from small left-wing party People Before Profit and slap sanctions on Tel Aviv. The move came in response to recent Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza. The country’s foreign minister called the vote a “clear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland.
To some it’s the most anti-Israel country in Europe, to others, the most pro-Palestine; Ireland, a nation of nearly five million and a member of the European Union, days after a ceasefire ended 11 days of fighting set off by Israeli provocations in occupied Jerusalem-al-Quds, has become the first EU member state to condemn Israeli settlement activity.
The parliament made other decisions too. It also added a condemnation of Hamas rocket fire upon insistence from the country’s foreign minister. Still, to many, the parliament’s vote is a historic starting point.
The latest move is one of several by Ireland to support the Palestinian cause. The most recent examples are namely the 2017 hoisting of the Palestinian flag over Dublin city council to mark 50 years of Israeli occupation, the funding of multiple developmental and humanitarian projects in Gaza, and the 2018 introduction of the Occupied Territories Bill.
Still to become law, the Bill, hands down hefty fines or jail sentences to anyone found guilty of importing or selling goods originating from the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem Al-Quds, or the illegal settlements in the west bank.
Slammed by Israel as an expression of full hostility, the bill and the latest condemnation are considered massive wins for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.
What’s helped foster Irish solidarity with the Palestinian cause, the country’s own experience with British colonialism.
The Irish people’s bloody struggle to achieve independence from British rule, has inspired an emotional connection to the Palestinian struggle, a connection that continues to inspire them to support the Palestinian cause and to call for an to the conflict through Palestinian self- determination.
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