RSS Feeds
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it    
Occupation magazine - Activism

Home page  back Print  Send To friend

Irish Parliament Condemns Israel’s “de facto annexation” of West Bank and Jerusalem
https://imemc.org/article/ireland-becomes-first-eu-country-to-condemn-
israels-de-facto-annexation-of-palestinian-land/

Ireland becomes first EU country to condemn Israel’s ‘de facto annexation’
of Palestinian land
MAY 28, 2021

26 May 2021 – for IMEMC News, Niall Ó Brolcháin – In a historic move
Wednesday, Ireland’s parliament, the Dáil, is thought to have become the
first European country to condemn Israel’s ‘de facto annexation of
Palestinian land with regard

to Jewish settlements.

All government, opposition parties, and independents united in fully backing
the amended motion. An original motion from the left-wing party People
Before Profit (PBP) calling to expel the Israeli ambassador was rejected.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said the landmark vote was a
‘clear signal of the depth of feeling across Ireland.’

Israel hit back with a strong statement, calling the motion ‘outrageous’,
‘baseless’, and a ‘victory for extremist Palestinian factions.’ A
spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, Lior Haiat, said it would
distance Ireland from its

ambition of playing a constructive role in the conflict.

(2) Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 on Twitter: “1/3 Israel outright rejects Ireland’s
outrageous and baseless position regarding Israeli communities in Judea and
Samaria. This position reflects a blatantly one-sided and simplistic policy…

https://t.co/6HQflk8pJ1”

Senator Frances Black, a tireless campaigner on behalf of Palestinian
rights, said in a Facebook post: ‘The motion on annexation in Palestine has
PASSED!! All parties supported!! I’m over the moon!! Ireland is the first
country in Europe

to label Israel’s illegal settlements and land grab as a de facto annexation
of Palestinian land. This is historic!!! Thank you to all Oireachtas (upper
house) members who supported it.. which was all parties and none! Amazing!!
.’

John Brady, a member of Ireland’s parliament’s opposition party Sinn Féin,
which sponsored the motion, called the vote a victory for justice.

(2) John Brady TD on Twitter: “Tonight’s passing of the @sinnfeinireland
motion on the illegal annexation of Palestinian lands by Israel, is a
historic moment,a victory for justice & a recognition of the right of
the Palestinian

people to self-determination. Focus now needs to be on the consequences for
Israel” / Twitter

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967 and expanded settlements in
the area, in violation of international law. Most countries do not recognize
Israel’s claim over the area, which is widely seen as an obstacle to peace.

Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian
state.



https://imemc.org/article/irish-parliament-condemns-israels-de-facto-
annexation-of-west-bank-and-jerusalem/
Irish Parliament Condemns Israel’s “de facto annexation” of West Bank and
Jerusalem
MAY 27, 2021
People hold palestinian flags and `free Palestine` signs Irish government
shows solidarity with Palestinians in a historic motion to condemn Israeli
settlement activity as defect annexation. photo credited to @sinnfeinireland
The Irish Parliament has unanimously passed a motion condemning Israel’s
colonial settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem as ‘de facto
annexation’. The Palestinian National Authority has hailed this as a victory
for international law,

human rights and United Nations Resolutions, according to the Wafa News
Agency.

The motion was tabled soon after a ceasefire was issued following 11 of the
most deadliest days for Palestinians in recent years. At least 233
Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s strikes on Gaza, 66 of
whom are

children. 12 people have been confirmed dead within Israel following rockets
fired from Gaza.

The Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, said the
motion was “great support” for Palestinians and praised the action of the
Irish Parliament:

“This motion is giving great support to the issue of the de facto annexation
that is happening in Palestine,” she told The Times newspaper.“It’s
happening. Ireland is the first EU country to take such a position.” Al-
Jazeera News Agency

reports. The motion, tabled by the opposition Sinn Fein party passed
Wednesday and received cross-party support.

Mary Lou Macdonald, the leader of the Sinn Fein party posted on Twitter :

Illegal land grabs, annexation of Palestinian land & homes has been called
out by Dail (Parliament) in Dublin.The motion tabled by @sinnfeinireland &
supported by all must mark new assertive, consistent confrontation of
Israeli crimes

against Palestine #PalestineBleeding

Macdonald is referring to the Israeli settlement of territory captured in
1967 within the West Bank and Jerusalem that has been considered illegal by
most countries in the world. Most recently, there have been increased
attacks on

Palestinians by Israeli settlers and nationalist extremists and an attempt
by the Israeli government to seize and hand over to settlers the Sheikh
Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, which would displace at least 300
Palestinian

residents.

John Brady, the spokesperson of the Sinn Fein Party gave a statement
following the momentous decision in parliament which was posted on Twitter,

“This is the starting point, an important start, to declare that Israel has
acted illegally, there now needs to be consequences for those illegal
actions, under international law, and now that’s where the focus needs to
be.”

In response to Ireland’s parliamentary decision, the Israeli Foreign
Ministry issued a statement saying they “outright reject Ireland’s
outrageous and baseless position regarding Israeli communities in Judea and
Samaria” – claiming it

was “blatantly one-sided and simplistic”. Contributions in the Dáil were
described as “unacceptable anti-Israel statements” at a time when “the
citizens of Israel were being subject to terror attacks by the more than
4,000 rockets that

were launched from the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terrorist organisation.”
Reports Ireland’s RTE News Agency.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, who has represented Ireland on the
United Nations Security Council in the last month stated: “The scale, pace
and strategic nature of Israel’s actions on settlement expansion and the
intent behind it

have brought us to a point where we need to be honest about what is actually
happening on the ground. … It is de facto annexation,”. He also condemned
what he described as Israel’s “manifestly unequal” treatment of
Palestinians, reports

Reuters News Agency.

Coveney however insisted that he would not support the motion before the
rockets fired by Hamas into Israel were condemned in an amendment. This
amendment was eventually accepted by Parliament, however was rejected by the
left-leaning

Sinn Fein party who tabled the original motion, reports Al-Jazeera.
Links to the latest articles in this section

Stop considering – Recognize Palestine Now!
US involvement in the Gaza carnage: Protests in Tel Aviv - and in Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles
Back home on the Gaza Border - and the terrible war still goes on