Shannon blockaded over weapons transport

Over 600 Palestinian activists from Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Sligo and Leitrim protested at Shannon Airport on Sunday over Ireland’s complicity with Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The Dublin government allows US planes to transport arms and military equipment via Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland.

After eleven months of systematic murder of Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza and now the West Bank, it refuses even to search planes.

Previous protests have been directed against the flow of US warplanes passing through the airport, but the Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil/Green Party coalition now stands accused of using Shannon to assist Israel’s genocide.

Recent atrocities include the bombing of tents in a makeshift refugee camp in a supposed ‘safe zone’ for those displaced by the eleven-month bombardment which has annihilated the Gaza Strip and killed at least 40,000 people.

Dozens of innocent civilians were confirmed to have been killed in the Israeli strike in a designated humanitarian zone near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and the toll is set to rise as more bodies are recovered.

Six UN workers were also killed in a separate attack on a UN school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which killed at least 14 people.

Those attacks followed an increase in genocidal activity in the West Bank, where a US citizen was shot in the head during a protest against ethnic cleansing there.

Thee Gardaí hemmed the protest at Shannon into a small space, but those involved broke out and marched nearer the airport terminal and partially blocked roads in the area.

A rally heard speakers from the Irish Anti War Movement, the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Committee, the activist group Shannonwatch and the Ditch website, which recently exposed that Irish airspace has been opened to fly weaponry to attack Gaza.

People before Profit described the protests at Shannon as “a pivotal aspect of the Boycott Israel campaign. We have never been consulted about whether we want Shannon to be used for these murderous ends.” It urged voters to support only those candidates who back Palestine and a boycott of Israel.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said last month that he is still “seeking information” on the transport of munitions from the US through Irish airspace.

IPSC chairperson Zoë Lawlor said the situation “makes a mockery of Ireland’s neutrality”.

“That Israeli planes can simply fly over Ireland — being directed by Irish air traffic controllers — while carrying weapons destined to murder more Palestinians is unspeakable, and a legal and moral outrage,” she said.

Mr Lawlor said that “the Irish government needs to act now to ensure that no weapon, explosive, bomb, bullet, helmet, component, or piece military tech destined for the genocidal apartheid state comes via Ireland”.

This, she continued, coupled with news that the Irish government and the Defence Forces are “making noises about green-lighting yet another drone deal with an Israeli arms company”, proves that the government is in no way serious about its commitment to justice for Palestinians.

“The Taoiseach has spoken about the need to use ‘levers’ as if the government has no power to use them. The reality is there’s no end of levers the Irish government can use to end Irish complicity in this genocide — from the Occupied Territories Bill to the Arms Embargo Bill to sanctions — but they refuse to pull a single one. It seems that, once again, trade trumps international law, and drones are more important than Palestinian lives.”

Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan has also repeatedly called for an end to the US Military’s use of Shannon Airport.

Senator Gavan has detailed how the Biden Administration has sent huge numbers of munitions to Israel, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of missiles manufactured by US firm Lockheed Martin since last year.

“Between the commencement of the genocide last October and recent weeks, the United States transferred at least 14,000 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small diameter bombs, and a host of other munitions,” Senator Gavan said.

“These US bombs and munitions are being used to blow up men, women, and children in hospitals, schools, refugee camps, family homes, apartments, nurseries, playgrounds and places of worship. They have resulted in the deaths of at least 38,000 Palestinians, including 15,000 children and 10,000 women – all innocent, all slaughtered with US munitions and bombs.”

Urgent Appeal