Thousands of people took part in a rally in Dublin city centre on Saturday calling for an end to the violence in Gaza.
The event was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), and was supported by more than 100 Irish civil society groups.
The group said the event was staged to call “for an end to Israel’s genocidal assault on the people of Gaza, and for the Irish Government to take action to hold Israel accountable”.
Protesters assembled at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square, before marching from there to Leinster House for a rally outside the Dáil.
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A number of speakers criticised the Government’s “empty words” on Israel following its actions in response to the October 7th attack by Hamas, and called for concrete sanctions against the state.
Those taking part in the rally carried flags, wore Palestinian attire, and chanted slogans including “free, free, Palestine” and “ceasefire now”.
Speakers include IPSC chairwoman Zoë Lawlor and Irish Palestinian Zak Hania, who was trapped in Gaza until recently.
“For over 76 years, Israel with the support of its colonial allies, has systematically and aggressively denied the Palestinian people their right to self-determination,” Ms Lawlor said. “That is why today, 9.17 million Palestinians are refugees and internally displaced persons.”
Mr Hania said he could not thank Irish people enough for their support following his struggle to escape Gaza.
“You chose to be a true human,” he told the crowd. “You choose to stand with justice and to stand with an oppressed people. I am proud to be an Irish Palestinian. I am proud to see all of you. It is part of my healing.
“We inherited a dream from our parents. We are trying for all our lives to fulfil our dreams and our parents’ dreams. My parents are dead, but I will work to fulfil their dreams. Their dream is to have a free Palestine.
“Their dream for their whole lives was to go back to their village from which they were expelled by Zionist gangs. I say to those gangs: you came to the wrong place.”
Mr Hania said the wound in the hearts of Palestinians “runs very deep”, but that Israel “will not defeat our will”.
“You succeeded in killing 13,000 children, and you killed more than 35,000 people. You succeeded in killing all these people, but you will not kill the fire in our hearts,” he said.
“I am very sure we will march to Palestine to free Palestine very soon. We will not rest until we bring those criminals – those gangsters – to justice.”
Other speakers included Walaa Ajjawi, a Palestinian woman living in Ireland, and a representative from the student encampment movement for Palestine.
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