Anger at continued arming of Israeli genocide

Moves by the US and British governments to deliver further bombs and weaponry for the annihilation of Gaza have been greeted with anger and protests in Ireland and Britain.

The fresh supply of arms was described as “sick” by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, while Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan said world leaders had to choose whether to “stand by international law, human rights and justice or stand with Israeli barbarism”.

People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll said it appeared there was “no amount of human slaughter that the Biden administration is unwilling to fund in Gaza”.

It emerged on Tuesday that the US was planning its first arms shipment to Israel since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold earlier this month.

The administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The UN has said that almost 450,000 Palestinians have fled from southern Gaza city amid an assault by Israeli tanks.

More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October, including 82 in the 24 hours of Monday.

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said he plans shortly to recognise the state of Palestine alongside other “like-minded countries”.

Sinn Féin’s Past Sheehan called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and an end to military arms sales to Israel.

“Israeli forces must withdraw and humanitarian aid must be delivered without interference,” he said.

“World leaders face a choice: stand by international law, human rights and justice or stand with Israeli barbarism.”

People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll said “apartheid Israel” was committing war crimes “with a blank chequebook from the US government”.

“It appears there is no amount of human slaughter that the Biden administration is unwilling to fund in Gaza.

“The ongoing assault on Rafah is a new dark chapter in Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people – it has further denied food, water and medical aid to a displaced population which it keeps under constant bombardment and hail of bullets.

On Saturday, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters staged a demonstration outside the BBC in Belfast ahead of the Eurovision grand final.

It was held to call for a boycott of the contest by the broadcaster after organisers ignored demands for the Israeli entry Eden Golan to be barred from taking part.

Thousands of people joined the march from Donegall Street to Ormeau Avenue, where speakers addressed the crowd.

Direct action has also been increasing in an effort to end the genocide.

Demonstrators blocked entrances to an arms manufacturer in Glasgow on Wednesday, calling for a halt in British arms exports to Israel, an immediate ceasefire and an end to the genocide.

The action came on the day that Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, meaning ‘catastrophe’, the violent displacement of Palestinian people in the 1948 war which established the state of Israel.

More than 80% of the mostly Arab Palestinian population were expelled or fled from what would become Israel, with at least 15,000 killed on that occasion.

Daniel, 47, a care worker, said: “Every day since October we have seen the Israeli Occupying Forces murder and torture people in the most grotesque and horrific ways.

“We’ve seen babies take their last breath before incubators ran out, children carrying their dead siblings in plastic bags, men dying for lack of basic life-sustaining medication, women giving birth with no healthcare or anaesthetic.

“The Israeli government knows there is no safe place in Gaza, even as they tell people to move again. My conscience demands that I do whatever it takes to stop the chain of killing that starts here in my home town.”

Jamie, 32, who works at a Scottish university, said: ‘Scotland is a huge part of the UK’s bloody links to Israel. Our leaders in Holyrood and Westminster aren’t taking action; in fact they are actively contributing to these horrors. That’s why we are doing the embargo ourselves, bringing Scottish solidarity to the people of Palestine who have suffered uncountable horrors and humiliation.

“All our eyes are on Rafah right now but this horror did not start with Rafah – it’s been decades of bloody occupation. We can do our bit today to hit the profits of those who value money over human life and dignity.”

Urgent Appeal