Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has today reiterated her call for the Irish government and world leaders to use every measure at their disposal to sanction Israel for its barbaric war crimes.

Deputy McDonald’s call comes following confirmation that seven aid workers were killed by an Israeli air strike.

She criticised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s response to the killings, and added that for world leaders to have any credibility in calls for a ceasefire, they must call Israel’s actions out for what they are.

Teachta McDonald said:

“My thoughts are with the friends and families of the seven aid workers who woke up today to the earth-shattering news that their loved ones had been killed in Gaza by an Israeli air strike.

“This is the latest example of the barbaric nature of the Israeli war machine. More than 30,000 Palestinian men, women and children have had their lives taken by Israeli forces in the most brutal way in the past five months.

“Israel has been allowed to kill indiscriminately, committing genocide, as the world watches on.

“Today’s pathetic response by Ursula von der Leyen is symptomatic of world leaders looking the other way, and allowing Israel to kill with impunity.

“Her description of aid workers ‘who lost their lives’ is an insult to those aid workers, and to the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli forces.

“None of these people ‘lost their lives’ – they were murdered.

“For world leaders to have any credibility in their calls for a ceasefire and for building a lasting peace, then they must call Israel’s actions out for what they are.

“For Ireland’s part, the government can and must do so much more to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.

“They can begin by making a meaningful declaration in the ICJ Genocide case against Israel without further delay, expelling the Israeli ambassador, enacting the Illegal Israeli settlements divestment bill, enacting the Occupied Territories Bill, increasing pressure to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement, and by recognising the state of Palestine.

“For there to be a lasting ceasefire and a chance of building a lasting peace, every diplomatic, economic and political measure at our disposal be utilised without delay to sanction Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu.”