City Hall urged to fly Palestinian flag

The Independent Group on Dublin City Council have submitted an emergency motion to the Council urging them to fly the Palestinian flag which they say is an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Sinn Fein, Social Democrats, People Before Profit and a number of individual councillors have supported the motion, which will be heard at tonight’s meeting of Dublin City Council.

A statement from the group read  “with the continuing indiscriminate slaughter taking place in Gaza, this Council agrees to fly the Palestinian flag above City Hall for a week as a sign of solidarity.”

“The support for the Ukrainian people shown by Dublin City Council in the aftermath of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine has set a precedent. The indiscriminate targeting of people in Gaza, similar to the indiscriminate targeting of the Ukrainian people, warrants an equivalent public display of opposition to the murder of Palestinian civilians.”

Councillor Cieran Perry, group leader said “over 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in 3 weeks, including over 3,600 children. Every effort must be made to stop the slaughter and tackle the humanitarian crisis caused by the relentless assault on the population of Gaza. The flying of the Palestinian flag will show our disgust at the continuation of the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians, and hopefully encourage an immediate ceasefire.”

Councillor Noeleen Reilly said “the dropping of bombs on innocent men, women and children is sickening. While the powerful allow and facilitate the slaughter, ordinary people must support our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We feel flying the flag will offer public support for the people of Gaza and increase the pressure for an immediate ceasefire.”

Veteran councillor Christy Burke commented “the hypocrisy of world leaders rightly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine while supporting or ignoring the indiscriminate Israeli targeting of innocent people in Gaza is disgraceful. The world cannot stand idly by while the massacre of the people of Gaza takes place before our eyes.”

The conflict between Israel and Gaza has dominated world headlines in recent weeks, with the debate taking centre stage in Irish politics.

In recent weeks, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has called for a ceasefire in the region, but also said he did not support expelling the Israeli ambassador.