Rally for Palestine planned at Shannon Airport

A MAJOR peace rally in support of Palestine is planned for Shannon Airport this Sunday.

The rally will take place at 2pm on Sunday, November 12, and is organised by Shannonwatch, a group of peace and human rights activists based in the Mid-West.

The gathering will mark more than two decades of weekly US military flights through the airport and "Ireland’s involvement in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East without the knowledge or support of the majority of Irish people", according to a statement released by the group.

"Given the current inhumane bombardment of Gaza by Israel, the organisers are also calling on the Irish government to ensure Shannon Airport is not being used to provide US support for the war crimes being committed by Israel," the statement continued.

"Over the past 15 years Shannonwatch has been holding monthly peace vigils at Shannon to highlight the ongoing breaches of Irish neutrality and international laws there” said a Shannonwatch spokesperson.

This is the second peace vigil at Shannon Airport organised by Shannonwatch since the conflict in Gaza restarted, the first being held on October 8.

The group is inviting people from around Ireland to come to Shannon on November 12th to call for "an end to unnecessary wars of aggression".

The event coincides with Remembrance Sunday, which is the day of commemoration in the United Kingdom for military and civilian servicemen and women that took part in the two World Wars.

"Ireland’s future generations should not have to commemorating our participation in more wars," said the Shannonwatch spokesperson. "Our lasting legacy should be one of promoting peace."