Sinn Féin spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Defence, John Brady TD, has marked Nakba Day by calling on the Irish government to use their position on the UN Security Council and in the EU to do more to hold Israel accountable for its gross abuse of human rights.

Nakba, which means catastrophe in Arabic, occurred when more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Palestine war. Nakba Day commemorates these events and raises awareness of the current plight that faces Palestinian refugees and their families.

The Wicklow TD said: 

“I want to commend all those from all around the Island of Ireland, who will mark Nakba Day this year. Today, more than ever, it is important that we mark the plight of the Palestinian people. Since 1948, Israel has denied these Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homeland.

“Unfortunately, the policy of forced displacement of Palestinians continues today. Israel continues to flout international law with impunity.

“The Palestinian refugee and displaced population remains the largest in the world. Many are forced to live in exile while others are internally displaced because of actions of the Israeli military, which continues to occupy Palestine.

“The number of illegal Israeli settlers who continue to occupy Palestinian territories is now over 700,000 in over 200 illegal settlements. 

“The Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people continues. This week we mourn the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh; the veteran reporter gunned down by Israeli forces in their latest attempt to suppress the truth of what is happening on the ground to Palestinians.

“I am calling on the Irish government to use Ireland’s position on the UN Security Council, and its standing in the EU, to demand that the international community acts to bring an end to the awful catalogue of human rights abuses being perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinian people.”