Palestinian solidarity protest in Dundalk told 'EU is losing all credibility'

A Palestinian solidarity protest in Dundalk has heard how the government has to build consensus with European countries who are willing to stand up for Gaza.

The protest, which was held at Market Square on Sunday and organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), heard from a number of speakers, including Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú, who said that 18,800 Palestinians had been killed by Israel, including over 8,000 children in the last two and a half months.

Deputy Ó Murchú said: ‘I don’t know how anyone can stand over those kind of numbers. It’s absolutely disgraceful. We have seen the United Nations Security Council where we saw the disgraceful veto by America, against a resolution just calling for a ceasefire’.

He continued, saying that while there has been "some movement" by the European Union, it was "taking an absolutely ridiculous amount of time".

Deputy Ó Murchú said he had spoken recently at an EU event in Madrid and what some European countries were saying was "absolutely disgraceful".

He said he agreed with the Irish government on one thing – ‘the EU is losing all credibility’.

The Louth TD said: ‘We need to maintain protests like these – this matters to the Irish people; we don’t want to be associated with genocide.

"The Irish government can press ahead, with others. We need to make sure that pressure is put on Israel because it never had to suffer for any of the humanitarian breaches, or breaches of international law or war crimes it has committed. 

"We need to make sure that happens at a county council level, at a government level and at an EU level. We need to work with countries that will move and are willing to take action. 

"To witness genocide live on TV is utterly sickening in the modern age. What is needed is a durable ceasefire, a durable peace and, beyond that, justice for the Palestinian people in the form of self-determination."