Several hundred people gathered at Government Buildings this evening for a protest calling on the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israeli government bonds.
Sinn Féin Senator Conor Murphy told the meeting the "governments of the west are cowards, just as they prevaricated during the slaughter of innocent Jews, the Nazi Germany, today they have all but abandoned innocent Palestinians, even though [the] United Nations court [said] that the occupation of Palestinian lands and exploitation of natural resources are illegal. Israel continues unchecked".
Dr Brigid Kiely, of Healthcare Workers for Gaza, called for immediate sanctions against Israel.
"Prior to the war in Gaza, Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the deadliest conflict for healthcare workers, with 261 healthcare workers killed. There are sanctions on Russia. Israel has killed over six times that number of healthcare workers in Gaza. There are no sanctions," she said.
Martin Staunton of the FORSA trade union said the Government must do more than pay lip service.
"Ireland has an obligation under the Genocide Convention to use all means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide.
"The Government's position that it cannot tell the Central Bank what to do is an excuse and a moral fallacy. The Central Bank is an organ of the State, and its complicity in genocide makes Ireland complicit," he said.
