Paul Murphy: Calls for Sanctions, Criticises Government Over Gaza

Thanks. The gap between the words and the actions of the Government on Palestine grows bigger and bigger because the words get stronger and the Government refuses to act. And really what happens in debates like this or last night is the Government comes in and effectively complains about why aren't they congratulated for not being as complicit in the genocide as the states that are literally funding and arming it? It is simply not good enough. The people outside don't think it is good enough. The people who will gather later on don't think it is good enough. Your average person on the street does not think it is good enough. People are appalled at the genocide that is being inflicted on the innocent men, women and children in Gaza. We remember our own history of occupation, our own history of forced starvation. We know that the victims in all this are not the settler colonialists of Israel, but the oppressed, occupied people of Palestine and that they have every right to defend themselves like we did. The courage, the perseverance of the people of Gaza over the past year and a half has been incredible. But the sheer weight of arms, of military support, of political support given to Israel by the US and the European Union is fuelling a genocide that they cannot stop on their own. The only thing that can stop this genocide now is decisive international action. But the only way that will happen is through people power, international solidarity and resistance. We cannot rely on the same governments and institutions that have armed Israel, that have financed Israel, that have continued to trade with Israel, that have turned a blind eye to the transit of weapons to Israel. Our governments in the West have valued the lives of Palestinian children at a fraction of those of Israeli children. The Palestinian Solidarity movement in Ireland and around the world has not. Israel's genocide in Gaza has been relentless. We have seen it on our screens, but so too has been the opposition to it. On May Day, three protesters from Palestine Action Era broke onto the runway of Shannon Airport, rightly taking action where our government refuses to and attempting to intercept a US military aircraft on its way to support the genocide. They are now facing criminal charges and a trial in July. They should be applauded, not criminalised. They are just one of the examples of the oppression being meted out against Palestinian protesters. The mothers against genocide being arrested, strip searched and called liars by the Gardaí and the Minister for Justice. Kneecap facing terrorism charges for speaking out against the genocide. The governments are trying to suppress the Palestine solidarity movements because they know we have the weight of public opinion behind us and it is forcing them to act. Without the movement there would be no talk of the occupied territories bill, even delayed, even watered down, of any sanctions against Israel. The government would have done less than nothing if they had not been under constant pressure to act. But what it has done so far is nowhere near good enough. We need to ban the Israeli bonds. Stop financing a genocide through the Irish Central Bank. Stop the overflight. Stop sitting on this draft report that you had since March. When are you going to publish it? When are you going to act on it? And full sanctions against the State of Israel? Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You