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ALL IRISH CITIZENS and people with dual Irish-Palestinian citizenship have been accounted for in Gaza, Minister Catherine Martin has said.
There are around 35 to 40 people with Irish citizenship or dual citizenship in Gaza, as well as their dependents.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1′s This Week programme today, Martin said it is her understanding that Irish embassies in the region have made contact with these people and accounted for their whereabouts, and that efforts are being made to get them out of Gaza where possible.
Martin’s comments come as 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were today finally allowed to enter Gaza via the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
“The key there in terms of Irish citizens coming out of Gaza was firstly that opening of the Rafah crossing, and that’s why we were pushing for the acceleration of that. So it’s a first step that those trucks have gotten through,” Martin stated.
She said Irish embassies remain in contact with all Irish citizens, and people with dual citizenship, in the Gaza Strip.
“I have been informed that our embassies have accounted for those with citizenship or co-citizenship, both registering with them and maintaining contact with them and being a liaison with the authorities in respect of endeavouring to get them out,” Martin said.
War crimes
The minister added that while Israel has “a right under international law to defend itself”, cutting off food and water to civilians in Gaza cannot be labelled as self-defence.
“[It] cannot be called self-defence to cut off water and electricity to the whole civilian population. That is collective punishment”, Martin said, adding that “collective punishment is a flagrant breach of international law”.
“There are rules of war and I believe that they are not being adhered to at the moment,” the minister stated.
Slaughter of innocent people under any flag, under any name, for any cause, is wrong, and can never be justified.
She called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as well as saying Hamas must release all its hostages.
Speaking on the same programme, People Before Profit–Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said the Israeli ambassador should be expelled from Ireland.
“I think Ireland needs to explicitly say that what is happening in terms of Israel, indeed, are war crimes. But also we should be expelling the Israeli ambassador and sending a signal that certainly we do not go along with this,” Murphy said.
A large Palestinian solidarity march is happening in Dublin this afternoon.
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I am shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies.
Why are they cancelling Web Summit over this humane statement?
@9QRixo8H:
I’m shocked by the ‘Progressive’ Left across Europe loudly vocalising their support for an Islamic Caliphate.
@9QRixo8H: Because once again, like a century ago, antisemitism has reared its ugly head.
@: That’s a leap; what is antisemitic about stating that war crimes are war crimes despite which side commits them?
@Tommy Haze: Strawman-ing? People in general, or the Left as you might simplistically see everyone as, are vocalising their disdain of violence by both sides.
And calling for a ceasefire by both sides, and possibly to remember that the country was Palestine before 1947.
@9QRixo8H:
Palestinian is a made up word. Israel was called Palestine for two thousand years. ‘Palestinian’ sounds ancient but is really a modern invention. Before the Israelis won the land in the 1967 war, Gaza was owned by Egypt, the West Bank was owned by Jordan, and there were no ‘Palestinians.
@Tommy Haze: Tommy Tommy Tommy, who do you think armed and covertly supported the ISIS caliphate as it overran Syria in 2015… Palestinian civilians are not ISIS, nor have they ever supported them! what an absurd statement
Israel, the only country in the world that gets criticized when its citizens are butchered.
Israel, the only country in the world that must watch large mobs dancing and celebrating in the streets when it’s citizens are butchered.
Ireland, a country rife with antisemitism. Leftie politicians, holier than thou journalists, we all know who they are, racists all, hiding in plain sight. They specialise in moral outrage, they rant about equivalence and context, as if there can be any context for butchering babies or raping women. These people disgust me, and they shame us all.
@D W Chaney: The slaphead garden gnome in Areas an Uachtarain does not speak for the vast majority of Irish people.
@D W Chaney: I could not agree more, well said
@D W Chaney: Israel is being criticised for murdering 4000+ civilians, carpet bombing a refugee camp, breaking every war crimes convention known and illegally occupying and ethnic cleansing Palestine for decades. Over 1700 kids are dead and 700 under rubble; Palestinians are humans just like me & you – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Wow what happened, comments are opened for an article mentioning Gaza
Russia cuts off electricity and water in Ukraine. Israel does the same in Gaza. Cut from the same cloth.
@Alan: If the Palestinians gave back the 200 innocent hostages when they were asked over a week ago, it wouldn’t have escalated this far.
@Alan:
Silly comment.
The PLO was a KGB construct.
In 1964 the first PLO Council, consisting of 422 Palestinian representatives handpicked by the KGB, approved the Palestinian National Charter—a document that had been drafted in Moscow.
Based on the principle of “socialist division of labor,” the Romanian espionage service (DIE) was responsible for providing the PLO with logistical support. Arms were supplied by the KGB and the East German Stasi. Everything else came from Bucharest. Even the PLO uniforms and the PLO stationery were manufactured in Romania free of charge, as a “comradely help.” During those years, two Romanian cargo planes filled with goodies for the PLO landed in Beirut every week, and were unloaded by Arafat’s men.
@Alan: Israel has killed more civilians & three times more kids in 11 day than have been killed in 20 months of the Ukraine war. This is a genocide by settler colonisers. Why do the West (rightly) support Ukrainian resistance to occupation, while arming and supporting the illegal occupation of Palestine. I can’t qwhite understand it…
@kerrill thornhill:
From 1990 to 2022 the population of Palestine increased from 1.98 million to 5.04 million people. This is a growth of 155.0 percent in 32 years. The highest increase in Palestine was recorded in 1991 with 4.58 percent.
The only genocide in history resulting in a dramatic increase in population.
The dregs of society marching in Dublin in solidarity with Palestine, absolute headbangers
@Mary Toilet: I hope the council disinfects the place after the dirty smelly lefty yokes.
A woeful bang off them and I don’t mean Hamas missiles
@Mary Toilet:
They masquerade as an Anti War ”Peace movement. Try turning up with a Peace for Israel sign and they’d kick you to death.
@Tommy Haze: You’re not wrong there, bunch of layabout thugs is all they are, never did a day’s work between them
@Tommy Haze: I wouldn’t even take my my chances showing up with an Irish flag.
They HATE the idea of nations, but Palestine is their little pet project.
Best for The Journal to close this comments section. Predictably it is a playground for those who are incapable of being civil and having anything remotely intelligent in terms of input.
People come on to this website and whinge at why comments sections are closed. The answer to why is in this comments section. The inability of contributors to be civil, adult and use the limited intelligence they have.
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