Pro-Palestine demonstrations held in Belfast and Dublin

Thousands of people demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as they took part in a pro-Palestine rally in Belfast on Saturday. In Dublin a smaller demonstration outside RTÉ’s headquarters saw 108 pairs of shoes laid out in a display activists said was to signify the number of journalists killed since the conflict began in October.

The rally at Belfast City Hall came after supporters of the Palestinian cause marched through the city centre. Protesters carrying Palestine flags and placards criticising the Israeli regime were among the large crowd that gathered outside the gates of the hall to hear a series of speeches. The addresses were interspersed with chants and songs voicing support for the Palestinian people and demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Among the speakers was Mark McTaggart, who is northern secretary of the INTO teaching union and also spokesman for the Trade Union Friends of Palestine group. He reflected on the numbers of students and teachers who have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank. “We look at what happened in our country during the time when there was unrest – education was the last bastion of hope for most people, it was the schools and the schoolteachers from across the North who kept children safe and schools were seen as places of safety. Those chances and those life chances are being taken away from young people across in Palestine.”

Mr McTaggart also encouraged people to actively boycott Israeli goods and companies.

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The protest at RTÉ headquarters in Donnybrook was organised by the group Mothers Against Genocide. One of those taking part was sustainable development scientist Naomi Sheehan. She said Ireland’s national broadcaster should be referring to Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide”.

“It’s hard to even speak about this because it is so emotional, this is like witnessing the worst human rights atrocities of our times. It’s a silent genocide and we are hearing a deafening silence in terms of assigning appropriate accountability to the forces who are enabling this genocide.”

Both Belfast and Dublin have also witnessed pro-Israeli demonstrations since the conflict began in October.

Saturday’s pro-Palestinian protests were staged after Tánaiste Micheál Martin warned that a widening of the conflict in the Middle East would have devastating consequences for the world. His comments came as Hizbullah in Lebanon claimed it fired dozens of rockets at Israeli observations posts after it blamed Israel for a strike on Beirut that killed a senior Hamas official during the week.

The Tánaiste also rejected suggestions coming from some Israeli ministers that large numbers of Palestinians should be relocated out of Gaza. He also expressed concern about the situation in the Red Sea where commercial ships have been attacked by Houthi rebels from Yemen.

Mr Martin said the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was “more urgent than ever”. He also stressed the urgency of the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held in Gaza and “full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” to the enclave.

“Events across the region in recent days are also a stark reminder of the potential for further escalation. A widening of this conflict would have devastating consequences for the region and for the world. The international community simply cannot allow further civilian suffering and deaths. I urge all parties in the region to exercise restraint and avoid escalation.”

The Tánaiste added: “Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis in Yemen are not only putting the lives of the crews in danger but are having an increasingly serious impact on global trade, with all the consequences that has for the lives and livelihoods of communities across the globe. As always it is the poorest and most vulnerable communities – in the Middle East, Africa and globally – that are the most severely affected. This trajectory must be reversed. The international community, including parties in the region, must, in the first instance, redouble efforts to end the conflict in Gaza.

“But our ambition should not be limited to de-escalation. We must take concrete steps to achieve long-term peace, stability and security for Palestinians and Israelis and for the region as a whole. This can only be done through a sustained and serious commitment to a two-state solution; not as an oft-repeated shibboleth but as a concrete reality. In that context the recent comments by Israeli government ministers calling for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza are utterly unacceptable and inflammatory. Gaza is Palestinian land and is an integral part of a future state of Palestine.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters also staged a sit-in at Westminster Bridge in London in their first major demonstration of the new year. Hundreds of protesters blocked off the bridge and surrounding roads following a march from London’s St James’s Park on Saturday. The demonstration, organised by the Free Palestine Coalition, renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It also called for the UK to stop arms sales to Israel and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.