Paul Murphy: Accuses EU of Complicity as Israel Attacks Aid Flotilla
Paul Murphy condemned Israel’s attack on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza and accused the EU and European states of complicity in a genocide. He opposed the government's move to abolish the triple lock, criticised increased EU-driven military spending, and called for a rally organised by the Irish Neutrality League.
Murphy recalled that last week Israel attacked an aid flotilla in international waters with drone attacks, targeting people bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. He said this was not unprecedented, recounting his participation in the Freedom Flotilla as an MEP, when their first boat was sabotaged and later boarded and brought to Israeli prison; he referred to the Mavai Marmara and said the flotilla aimed to break the siege and provide humanitarian aid.
He described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a thousand times worse, alleging Israel has been carrying out a genocide for over 20 months and accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. He cited figures from the Health Ministry — 290,000 children starving, 70,000 hospitalised for severe malnutrition, and 3,500 children under five facing imminent death — and said there were large stockpiles of food a mile away from where children are starving.
Murphy questioned how the EU and European states could continue to arm Israel and remain major trading partners while such atrocities occur, calling the EU’s silence complicity that undermines its claim to be an institution of peace. He warned that the EU is pressuring member states into billions of euros of increased military spending and said the government's desire to abolish the triple lock would remove the restriction preventing the state from sending troops overseas without UN approval, opening the way to offensive interventions aligned with the US and NATO.
He highlighted a wider crackdown on protest across Europe, citing threats to Urgence Palestine and La Jeune Garde Antifasciste in France and bans or deportation threats in Germany, and accused the Irish state of joining this repression. He recounted incidents in Dublin — the Garde's assault outside NATO HQ that broke a man's ankle and the strip-searching of women protesters — and warned of proposed laws enabling facial recognition and criminalising face masks ahead of the country's EU presidency. He urged people to rally against militarism and for neutrality this Saturday at 2pm in the Gresham Hotel, organised by the Irish Neutrality League.
Flotilla attack and personal testimony
Murphy recalled that last week Israel attacked an aid flotilla in international waters with drone attacks, targeting people bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. He said this was not unprecedented, recounting his participation in the Freedom Flotilla as an MEP, when their first boat was sabotaged and later boarded and brought to Israeli prison; he referred to the Mavai Marmara and said the flotilla aimed to break the siege and provide humanitarian aid.
Allegations of genocide and humanitarian disaster
He described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a thousand times worse, alleging Israel has been carrying out a genocide for over 20 months and accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. He cited figures from the Health Ministry — 290,000 children starving, 70,000 hospitalised for severe malnutrition, and 3,500 children under five facing imminent death — and said there were large stockpiles of food a mile away from where children are starving.
EU policy, arms and the triple lock
Murphy questioned how the EU and European states could continue to arm Israel and remain major trading partners while such atrocities occur, calling the EU’s silence complicity that undermines its claim to be an institution of peace. He warned that the EU is pressuring member states into billions of euros of increased military spending and said the government's desire to abolish the triple lock would remove the restriction preventing the state from sending troops overseas without UN approval, opening the way to offensive interventions aligned with the US and NATO.
Protest repression and mobilisation
He highlighted a wider crackdown on protest across Europe, citing threats to Urgence Palestine and La Jeune Garde Antifasciste in France and bans or deportation threats in Germany, and accused the Irish state of joining this repression. He recounted incidents in Dublin — the Garde's assault outside NATO HQ that broke a man's ankle and the strip-searching of women protesters — and warned of proposed laws enabling facial recognition and criminalising face masks ahead of the country's EU presidency. He urged people to rally against militarism and for neutrality this Saturday at 2pm in the Gresham Hotel, organised by the Irish Neutrality League.
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Transcript
Thanks. Last week, Minister, Israel attacked an aid flotilla bound for Gaza. They did so with drone attacks in international waters against people bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. That is shocking, but for Israel, it is not unprecedented. Fifteen years ago, ten people were killed aboard the Mavai Marmara as part of the Freedom Flotilla. Fourteen years ago, when I was an MEP, I participated in the Freedom Flotilla. Our first boat was sabotaged. And then later on, when we did get to sail, we were surrounded by Israeli warships, boarded and brought to Israeli prison. Then, as now, the aim of the flotilla was to break the siege of Gaza and provide humanitarian aid. But the humanitarian situation is a thousand times worse. For over 20 months, Israel has been carrying out a genocide. Starvation is a weapon of war for Israel, just like bombs and bullets. 290,000 children in Gaza are starving. 70,000 have been hospitalised for severe malnutrition. 3,500 little children under five face imminent death by starvation, according to the Health Ministry. All the while, there are large stockpiles of food a mile away from where the children are starving to death. How can the EU, how can European states continue to arm Israel? How can it continue to be its largest trading partner while it continues to commit such atrocities? Why is it so supportive of Israel's genocide that it will not act even when Israel attacks the humanitarian ship 14 miles off the coast of Malta? Its silence, its complicity in genocide makes a mockery of the claim by the EU to be an institution of peace. It is not. It is a great power bloc and increasingly an imperialist military alliance in which Ireland, a post-colonial neutral state, should have no part. The EU is pressuring member states into billions of euros of increased military spending. This money will not be used for defence. It will be used for imperialist military interventions along the US and NATO. That is why the government wants to abolish the triple lock. If the increased military spending was just for defence, well then there will be no need to abolish the triple lock. The triple lock does not prevent the state at all using troops to defend itself. It just restricts the government from sending troops overseas without UN approval. In other words, it stops Micheál Martin and Simon Harris from incurring favour with Trump, von der Leyen, Macron and Merz by sending Irish soldiers to fight and die in offensive imperialist wars. In preparation for abolishing the triple lock, the government here is cracking down on the right to protest. The same is happening across the EU. In France, one of the most prominent Palestine solidarity organisations, Urgence Palestine, is under threat of being banned. So is the anti-fascist organisation, La Jeune Garde Antifasciste. In Germany, protesters are banned from speaking au squelge on pro-Palestine demonstrations and Irish citizens are threatened with deportation as a result of their pro-Palestine solidarity. Far from standing up against this repression, the Irish state is eagerly joining in. The Garde physically assaulted pro-Palestine protesters outside NATO HQ in Dublin, viciously breaking a man's ankle. They strip-searched women protesters for Mothers Against Genocide, a form of sexual assault. The government is bringing in new laws to allow the Garde to use facial recognition technology and to criminalise wearing face masks on protests so they can be easily identified by police. It says it will need these draconian powers for the EU presidency in Dublin next year. It knows that the EU is authoritarian and anti-democratic and so therefore will need these powers to suppress protests against it. It is why we need to rally against militarism, against the increasingly repressive direction of the EU and a defence of peace this Saturday at 2pm in the Gresham Hotel in Dublin, organised by the Irish Neutrality League.