November 17, 2023
Writers, politicians, and activists
in Ireland, which is often an outlier in the West on the Middle East conflict,
call for peace.
“Ireland should disassociate itself from EU policy [on
Israel and Palestine] from dealing exclusively with the Palestinian Authority,
which has no real authority, and cease to repeat the ‘two-state solution’ ad
nauseam,” he told Al Jazeera.
He would also like to see Ireland put an arms embargo on
Israel and witness the Occupied Territories Bill implemented.
While the Irish government has gone further in its
condemnation of Israel than other EU countries, Nichillin, Deane and Nic
Carthaig are not alone in wanting the Irish government to do more.
Mary Lou McDonald, president of Sinn Fein, has said
recognising Palestinian statehood would top the foreign policy agenda should
her party lead the government.
Sinn Fein met with ambassadors from Arab countries this
month to discuss Gaza and the need for “dialogue” to secure a just and lasting
peace, including a “viable state of Palestine”.But less than a week later, he became one of the few
European officials to raise alarm.
“Israel
doesn’t have the right to do wrong,” he said in something of a play on words as
most European leaders were stressing Israel’s “right” to self-defence during
its bombing campaign on Gaza, the enclave ruled by Hamas.
In
just 41 days of war, more than 11,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israel.
Varadkar
has also said Israel’s bombardment “amounts to collective punishment”, which is
prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.
Michael
D Higgins, the 82-year-old Irish president whose role is largely ceremonial,
said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was “not speaking for
Ireland” when she expressed unconditional support for Israel on October 16
without acknowledging the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands.
After
Israel began striking Gaza, Ireland, a member of the European Union, was one of
the first countries to call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to meet
the “urgent” needs of civilians.
Niamh
Nichillin – a 50-year-old primary school teacher in Tipperary and a member of
Fianna Fail, one of two governing centre-right parties – is among the many in
Ireland who sympathise with the people of Gaza, one of the world’s most densely
populated areas often described as an open-air prison due to Israel’s blockade
of the enclave.
“Israeli
air strikes on Gaza are clearly disproportionate towards a civilian population
with little or no defences,” she told Al Jazeera. “This can hardly be called a
war in the usual sense of the word.”
Statements
by Israeli officials indicate they are motivated by a “desire for the
destruction of Gaza”, she said. “This is unacceptable.”
On
October 18, Ireland announced an additional 13 million-euro ($14m) package of
humanitarian funding for Palestinians, lifting the 2023 total to 29 million
euros ($31.5m) with the foreign ministry saying it was aware the unfolding
situation in Gaza is a “humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude”.
“I
would like the Irish people to continue to use their influence to ensure that
there is a ceasefire, an end to the siege and that enough humanitarian aid is
getting through,” said Nichillin, who welcomed the news of extra aid.
What
lies behind Irish support of Palestine?
In
1980, Ireland was the first EU country to call for the establishment of a
Palestinian state. Thirteen years later, it became the last member of the bloc
to open an Israeli embassy in Dublin.
In
2018, Ireland drew worldwide attention when independent politician Frances
Black proposed the Occupied Territories Bill, which would have banned and
criminalised trading goods and services from lands occupied by Israel.
Although
it enjoyed support across the political spectrum and the public, it was removed
from the government’s programme during coalition negotiations in 2020 between
the two ruling parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.
In
2021, Ireland became the first EU country to declare that Israel was involved
in the “de-facto annexation” of Palestinian land, upsetting Israel’s foreign
ministry, which said the move “constitutes a victory for extremist Palestinian
factions”.
“Ireland’s
own history of colonisation by the British has made many Irish people
empathetic towards other nations under occupation or colonisation,” said Cathal
O’hEanna, a representative of the left-wing nationalist party Sinn Fein.
“Our
centuries-long struggle for the right to self-determination resonates with the
Palestinian struggle for statehood and independence,” he told Al Jazeera.
John
Lyndon, executive director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, said, “At
first there was Irish solidarity with Jews in Mandate Palestine and then early
Israel because they were seen as fighting British colonialism, using some of
the same paramilitary tactics as the IRA. And some also had an affinity with
the kibbutz movement and the socialist ideals of early Israel.”
“However,
after Israel started expanding settlements on Palestinian territory following
the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Irish allegiance switched towards the Palestinian
cause,” he added.
Today,
as the war escalates, pro-Palestine protests continue throughout the country.
On
Wednesday evening, more than 1,000 people rallied outside the lower house in
Dublin as a motion to expel Israeli Ambassador Dana Erlich, who has accused
Higgins of “spreading misinformation” about the Israel-Hamas war, was being
voted on.
The
motion – which was put forward by the Social Democrats and supported by Sinn
Fein and the Trotskyist People before Profit party – was defeated. Another
motion tabled by Sinn Fein calling on Ireland to refer Israel to the
International Criminal Court was also defeated.
Celebrated
Irish writers are also organising. Authors including Sally Rooney, Sinead
Gleeson, Donal Ryan and Colin Barrett are participating in four Irish Writers
for Palestine events from November 28.
“Writers,
especially in Ireland, occupy a certain cultural position, and we hope to use
that position to do what we can to show our solidarity,” said Michael Magee,
one of the organisers. “Voices sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle, both
within Israel and across Europe and the US, are facing more marginalisation and
violent suppression than ever.”
Lyndon
said that although he understands his fellow citizens, he feels that it is
“important to be careful” about how solidarity with the Palestinian cause is
expressed.
“The
[October 7 attacks] triggered memories of the Holocaust for the Israeli side
while the Palestinians now feel that they are reliving the Nakba. I’d like to
see more solidarity with Palestinians and Israelis working together to end the
occupation and ensure self-determination for each rather than one side fighting
the other.”
Lyndon
tragically lost a friend, the longtime advocate for Palestinian rights Vivian
Silver, in the Hamas attacks.
Ireland
should position itself as a peace negotiator, he said, because it has its “own
history with conflict resolution” through its efforts to bring about the Good
Friday Agreement.
That
Ireland “does not have the same ‘colonial baggage’ as other EU countries” would
reassure Palestinians if the country were present in any negotiations.
“Ireland’s
relationship with the US is also very good, so I would like to see Ireland use
those strengths to play a better diplomatic role [in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict],” said Lyndon.
Opinion
divided along sectarian lines
While
Irish citizens of the Republic of Ireland overwhelmingly support the
Palestinian cause, the picture is different in Northern Ireland, where people
endured 30 years of violence known as the Troubles between nationalists and
unionists.
That
conflict largely came to an end with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement
in 1998.
Opinions
on the Middle East are divided along sectarian lines to a degree with
Palestinian flags a common feature in the nationalist neighbourhoods of Belfast
and Israeli flags in the unionist areas.
While
these flags have long flown, more have appeared since the start of the
Israel-Hamas war.
Amr
Hashad, an activist in Belfast, said he sees similarities between the
nationalist struggle in Northern Ireland for independence from the UK, which
led to the emergence of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provos) in 1969
following widespread violence against the Catholic community, and Hamas, which
was founded in 1987 at the start of the first Palestinian intifada, or
uprising.
However,
after the Provos launched an attack in London in 1995, “the British government
and the EU negotiated with this army and even asked US President Bill Clinton
for help in doing so until they managed to find a solution to the conflict”,
Hashad said.
“Today,
we find ourselves in a similar situation to the Provos’ secret attack on London
where Hamas attacked Israel and the entire Gaza Strip is being punished
mercilessly as innocent women, children and the elderly are killed with the
support of the West. The question I ask myself is: Why aren’t the West
negotiating with Hamas like it did with the Provos?”
Soon
after the October 7 attacks, Sinn Fein, in contrast with statements made by
other Western governments and political parties, said that while it had “no
plans to meet or engage” with Hamas, it would “not rule out meeting with or
talking to anybody” as part of efforts to secure peace in the Middle East.
Ireland
is not among the small minority of EU countries that officially recognises
Palestine and, in line with the bloc’s position, considers Hamas a terrorist
organisation. The Irish parliament put forward a motion in 2014, calling on the
government to formally recognise its statehood, but the push remains in limbo.
Michael
Martin, foreign minister, said in September that the government was preparing
to recognise Palestine as an independent state.
Andrew
Cottey, a professor at the University College Cork’s department of government
and politics, said that despite the political and public support of Palestine,
“whatever the rights or wrongs of recognising Palestine, it would put Ireland
in a minority within the European Union” and “significantly at odds with the
United States on this issue”.
“You
can make an argument for recognising Palestine, but were Ireland to do that,
would it have any substantive impact on the situation on the ground in Israel
and Palestine? Probably not. And the kind of political cost for the Irish
government would be to antagonise the United States and isolate itself within
the European Union.”
Stephanie
Nic Carthaig, a translator who believes Ireland should officially recognise
Palestine, said she understands Cottey’s argument, but added: “Neoliberalism in
Irish politics, servile attitudes to empire and influence from the US are
behind this slowness to recognise Palestine.”
Irish
composer Raymond Deane, co-founder of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity
Campaign, criticised his country’s position on numerous fronts.
“Ireland
should disassociate itself from EU policy [on Israel and Palestine] from
dealing exclusively with the Palestinian Authority, which has no real
authority, and cease to repeat the ‘two-state solution’ ad nauseam,” he told Al
Jazeera.
He
would also like to see Ireland put an arms embargo on Israel and witness the
Occupied Territories Bill implemented.
While
the Irish government has gone further in its condemnation of Israel than other
EU countries, Nichillin, Deane and Nic Carthaig are not alone in wanting the
Irish government to do more.
Mary
Lou McDonald, president of Sinn Fein, has said recognising Palestinian
statehood would top the foreign policy agenda should her party lead the
government.
Sinn
Fein met with ambassadors from Arab countries this month to discuss Gaza and
the need for “dialogue” to secure a just and lasting peace, including a “viable
state of Palestine”.
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