Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan has slammed Israel for leaving innocent children with just 10 days to safely receive their polio vaccine.

The Dublin MEP spoke after chairing her first meeting of the EU Delegation for Palestine.

Lynn Boylan said: 

“It is absolutely outrageous that Israeli aggression has left innocent children in northern Gaza with just 10 days to safely receive their polio vaccines. The IDF is refusing to give assurances of a humanitarian pause to UNRWA, that would allow them to safely administer this second dose of the vaccine to the children.

“If this dose is not received within 10 days, the vaccine’s effectiveness is dramatically reduced, meaning children in Gaza will still be highly vulnerable to the devastating effects of polio. Polio is a disease of poverty and violence, and polio has returned to Gaza after being eradicated 25 years ago, due to the escalating brutality.

“This horrific case was one of many relayed to us today at the EU Delegation for Palestine.

“Myself and my delegation colleagues will be writing to the EU Commission to demand that urgent action is taken to ensure these vital medical supplies are safely delivered.

“Denying vital medical supplies to innocent children is a form of cruelty beyond comprehension and this the need for the EU to impose sanctions on Israel, and to push for a permanent ceasefire. The culture of impunity that the European powers have allowed Israel to enjoy has lead us to this situation where children are suffering a disease for which we have effective treatment.”