A pro-Palestine protest has been held outside government departments over the Central Bank of Ireland’s role in approving Israel Bonds for sale in the EU.
The demonstration, organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began outside Government Buildings in Dublin on Tuesday evening where speeches were made.
It marched to the Department of Foreign Affairs at Iveagh House, pausing briefly outside the Department of Finance.
In Belfast, a vigil was held in Writer’s Square to condemn the killing of Palestinian journalists in Israeli attacks.
Journalist Brian Pelan and general secretary of Nipsa Carmel Gates addressed the crowd.
Dr Bridget Kiely, from Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine, told the crowd in Dublin that “medicide”, the eradication of healthcare provision, had become normalised during Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip.
She raised the stories of healthcare workers in Gaza who had been killed and who were working in conditions with limited medicine and food supplies.
“Up until the last decade, attacks on healthcare facilities were rare and generated public outcry,” Dr Kiely said.
“Prior to the war in Gaza, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the deadliest conflict for healthcare workers, with 261 healthcare workers killed. There are sanctions on Russia.
“Israel has killed over six times that number of healthcare workers in Gaza. There are no sanctions on Israel.”
She called on the Irish people to ask their pharmacies for alternatives to medicines made by Israeli firms and for the HSE to use alternatives.
Sinn Fein senator Conor Murphy said the Irish people had experienced “oppression, persecution and exploitation by imperialist Britain”.
“In the 1840s the people of Ireland were starved as our grain and our crops exported under British armed guard. Today Israel uses the starvation of civilians in a disgusting attempt to subjugate and murder Palestinians, all the while fruits, vegetables, herbs and olive oil are exported from occupied Palestinian territories.”
Labour TD Ciaran Ahern said governor of the Central Bank Gabriel Makhlouf “must refuse the prospectus” which is due for renewal on September 2.
“Our Central Bank is complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians, this must end,” he told the crowd.
The Central Bank of Ireland is the designated authority in relation to the sale of Israel Bonds in the EU and has determined the securities meet the standards of the bloc’s prospectus regulations.
Israel Bonds have been advertised as supporting the country’s economy and, more recently, websites promoting the securities emphasise their role in supporting Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Protesters and opposition parties have said the bonds are intended to fund the war in Gaza and approving them is tantamount to complicity with the genocide of the Palestinian people.
The Central Bank has said regulations require that it approves prospectuses that meet standards of completeness, consistency and comprehensibility.
Activists have also called on the Irish Government to pass a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
Ireland’s coalition of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and a group of independents committed to passing a ban on goods alone from the occupied Palestinian territories in its programme for government completed in January.
However, a cross-party committee recommended that the importation of services from occupied Palestinian territories should also be banned.
Earlier, Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Harris said collective EU action against Israel is “long overdue”.
Mr Harris, who is also Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, said there are “clear, concrete measures the EU can take”.
He was responding to an RTE News report that 206 former European ambassadors and officials had signed a letter calling on the EU to step up action against Israel over a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Describing the letter as a “vital, unprecedented intervention”, Mr Harris added: “If we don’t take collective action now against the backdrop of famine, when will we?
“Collective EU action could make a powerful difference.”
Responding to Mr Harris at the protest, Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said: “Do you know what’s long overdue, Simon Harris? Action by Ireland against Israel.
“You do not need the permission of the US, the EU or anybody else to stop the Israeli war bonds being renewed on September 2. You can do that all by yourself.”
She also said “the missing ingredient” in pro-Palestine movement was “sympathetic strikes” from journalists, healthcare workers, teachers and other groups.
