Clodagh Kilcoyne
Reuters
When Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked governments which have supposedly backed the latest attack on Gaza, Ireland was absent from his list.
The absence may be attributed to Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, who has taken a relatively strong stance against the offensive.
32 children killed since Monday in #Gaza by Israeli fire - that’s approx 1/4 of all fatalities - It’s not acceptable! Israel has int. legal obligation to protect children in conflict & r not doing so! #Ireland will speak forcefully again at UNSC tomorrow. https://t.co/HGiCoTbfwk Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) May 15, 2021
Hafez Omar
In occupied Palestine, even dance can land you in prison. Especially if that dance draws inspiration from Palestinian history and heritage.
The arrest, in February, and continued detention without charge of acclaimed dance choreographer Ata Khattab underlines just how threatening Palestinian culture and identity is considered by Israel’s occupation forces.
Dance communities and rights groups across the globe are now calling for the release of Ata, who has been detained in a notorious Israeli prison since a raid on his West Bank home in the middle of the night on 2 February.
Family members and neighbors were awakened by the sound of Israeli soldiers breaking into his family home in al-Bireh, near Ramallah, and calling out Ata’s name at 4 am.
Liam McBurney
ZUMA Press
Ireland’s police forces have given unconvincing explanations about why they are cooperating with an Israeli ministry implicated in torture and war crimes.
The European Union has allocated approximately $8.5 million to a research project ostensibly aimed at using new speech and facial recognition technologies to help identify criminal networks.
Named Roxanne, the project includes Israel’s ministry for “public security” and a number of law enforcement bodies.
The involvement of Ireland’s two police forces in the project has angered campaigners and politicians from across the island. They have pointed out that the Israeli ministry oversees prisons where Palestinians are routinely abused and a police force active in settlements which violate international law.
Niall Carson
ZUMA Press
Ireland’s government is signaling that it will rely on advice from a disgraced judge to keep blocking a proposed ban on imports from Israel’s illegal settlements.
The Occupied Territories Bill – as the proposed ban is known – was placed once again on the legislative schedule for the Dáil, the lower house in the national parliament, earlier this month.
Great news about my Occupied Territories Bill! After an election, Bills from last term lapse & fall. But Dáil has just voted that OTB should be restored to agenda -so important given Govt promise for action & worsening reality in #Palestine. Now we can work to move it forward pic.twitter.com/mEdcsH7GP5 Frances Black (@frances black) December 9, 2020