Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said that the belated decision of the outgoing cabinet to intervene in the International Court of Justice case against Israel, while welcome, must mark a turning point in the urgency and impetus of the Irish government in defending international law.
She said that any incoming government must enact sanctions against Israel in order to bring international pressure to bear on the state that is responsible for decades of oppression against the Palestinian people and a Genocide in Gaza that has continued for over a year.
Ms McDonald was speaking after Cabinet agreed for Ireland to issue a declaration of intervention in the proceedings against Israel at the ICJ.
Teachta McDonald said:
“This move by the outgoing cabinet is welcome. It should have been made several months ago. The intervention to the International Court of Justice must be impactful and meaningful. It must clearly set out that Ireland considers Israel in breach of the Genocide convention.
“More than 44,000 Palestinians have been massacred in Gaza by Israel since October 2023, more than 70% have been women and children. Despite this ongoing atrocity, the government has dragged their heels when it has come to taking meaningful measures against Israel. That must change.
“What we are seeing perpetrated by Israel in Gaza are crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. Only last week Amnesty International declared its finding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
“Enough time has been wasted by the Irish government, and indeed by the international community, to stop this barbarity. Ireland can and must show international leadership just as South Africa has done.
“There can be no more excuses, no more delay, no more prevarication. Ireland’s intervention to the ICJ must be impactful. And it must be followed by enacting sanctions against Israel.
“The Occupied Territories Bill must be enacted. So too must Sinn Féin’s Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill. There must be no more approvals of export licences for Dual Use products, which have a military application, to Israel. Steps must be taken to ensure that Irish sovereign airspace and our airports are not being used to transport weapons of war to this brutal Israeli regime. And the government must intensify efforts to suspend the EU-Israel Association agreement.
“It is time for the government to take a clear stand on the side of international law, human rights and justice, on the side of the Palestinian people’s right to exist and their right to live in freedom and peace.”
