Sinn Féin hold Gaza protest at Market Square in Dundalk
The ongoing situation in Gaza was to the fore in the Dáil last week, and on the streets of Dundalk, with two pro-Palestinian protests taking place in the town centre, both addressed by Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú.
Deputy Ó Murchú spoke at the Sinn Féin-organised protest at Market Square last Monday and the protest organised by a number of other groups at the same location on Sunday.
And in Leinster House, he condemned Hamas and called on the international community to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.
He said the people of Gaza are under “an unmerciful onslaught’ and it was ‘a besieged open prison where young people are offered nothing.”
He said: “Israel has cut off food, water and energy. What it is offering is bombs, starvation and one million people being displaced within Gaza. In other places and at other times, this would be called genocide and ethnic cleansing.
“Promises that may have been made in Oslo have long since fizzled away and they have no hope for what happens in the future.
“This is completely the case in Gaza, a besieged open prison where young people are offered nothing. Some say the choice is between a slow death and now a fast death.”
He said the world had ‘done very little’ for the people of Palestine.
He said: “The actions of Hamas are to be called out as barbarous, be they the taking of hostages or the brutal killings. They offer nothing relating to Palestinian statehood.
“However, let us be absolutely clear: this Israeli regime, which has offered only oppression, or from its point of view security, has led to the biggest failure in Israeli intelligence in the 50 years since the Yom Kippur War. It has absolutely failed to protect the Israeli people.
“The only argument that needs to be made to the international community is for an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages and to ensure humanitarian aid is delivered to save the Palestinian people.
“There will be a need for international intervention and a roadmap for peace, justice and freedom for the Palestinian people.”