More than 250 people attended a protest outside the GPO in Dublin on Monday evening organised in response to the killing by Israeli forces of six Palestinian journalists in Gaza.
The Al Jazeera journalists, including prominent reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in a targeted drone attack on their tent near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital.
The Israeli military said it carried out the attack, accusing Mr Sharif of leading a Hamas cell, an allegation he had previously denied.
To chants of “Israel, stop killing journalists; Israel, stop killing civilians; Israel, stop killing children”, Emma O Kelly of the broadcasting branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) called for those present to make noise in protest at attempts to silence their work.
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NUJ Irish secretary Séamus Dooley said the protest was “hugely important” and there was a danger in underestimating the power of solidarity. He said other events had been organised by journalists in Belfast, Derry and Edinburgh, which was important.
Mr Dooley said he had been talking to colleagues at Al Jazeera and they were “taking great heart from this”.
“We’re not foolish enough to think that it’s going to change anything on its own. But is a powerful symbol and I think it’s the fact that so many people are turning up is important.”
He added that “what happened was shocking”, but the NUJ and International Federation of Journalists had been highlighting “Israel’s targeting of journalists for many years”.
Palestinian journalist Dr Asad Abushark said he knew Mr Sharif, who was one of more than 200 journalists killed by Israel’s forces since the war began.
“Every day they are killing. They don’t want journalists to tell the truth about the butchering and mass killing,” he said.
The protest was also attended by representatives of other trade unions. Greg Kerr, secretary of the INTO’s Palestine Ambassadors Group, said “the Irish Government is not doing nearly enough” and the Occupied Territories Bill “needs to be passed ASAP”.
A large contingent of pro-Palestine activists waved flags and led the crowd in chants of “from the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Earlier, Tánaiste Simon Harris encouraged protests in Israel against the Netanyahu administration, saying he wanted people to differentiate between the government of Israel and the Israeli people.
Mr Harris, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, repeatedly referenced the protests against the intensification of the military campaign in Gaza announced by the Israeli government at the weekend.
Asked if he would encourage the protests, he said: “I encourage everybody to use their voice and speak up and speak out against what is genocidal activity in Gaza.
“There is no doubt in my mind there must be so many people in Israel disgusted at the actions of their government.”
Mr Harris said he had been involved in positive recent conversations with Arab nations and European countries around a plan for the future of Gaza.
“[It is] a plan that has no future for Hamas, none whatsoever. The Palestinian Authority is clear about that, Arab nations are clear about that, the European Union is clear about that: Hamas can have no future in the running of Gaza,” he said.
“But you can’t get to this point of the future of Gaza until the killing stops, until the genocide stops, until they stop starving children and the hostages are, of course, released.”
Asked about the Occupied Territories Bill, Mr Harris said it had not been sufficiently acknowledged that Slovenia had recently decided to similarly ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements and Belgium had signalled its intention to do so.
He said commentary from abroad made it appear Ireland was alone in pursuing such a course of action, but he was pleased to see a growing number of EU countries “who recognise that the International Court of Justice matters and what it says matters and international law matters”.
The Government, he continued, would proceed with the legislation, which was about the illegally occupied territories and not about trade with Israel.
There is nervousness in Government circles about the potential economic cost of a growing campaign against the Bill among US politicians, while pro-Palestinian campaigners were seeking to have the scope of the legislation expanded.
Asked about the possible inclusion of services in the scope of the Bill – which could hit companies like Airbnb – Mr Harris said he expected decisions to be made when the next Dáil term begins in the autumn. He said Government decisions “will be grounded on the advice of the Attorney General”.
