THE GOVERNMENT was urged to take a stand "against the relentless destruction of the Palestinian people" at a demonstration organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Dublin on Saturday.
The demonstration was held to mark the 60th anniversary of a massacre at Deir Yassin, a village of about 750 Palestinian residents. More than 100 people were murdered in the attack in 1948.
Hundreds of people marched from the Central Bank to the Dáil and on to the GPO on O'Connell Street, where they heard from speakers including Dr Bassam Nassar from the Palestinian community in Ireland.
They carried posters saying "Gaza's pain, EU shame" and "Stop Israel's war crimes".
Outside the Dáil, Michael D Higgins of Labour urged the international community to act now to bring the suffering in the Israeli-occupied territories to an end.
Senator David Norris said Israel was breaching the Euro-Med Agreement because it was failing to protect human rights. The agreement covers political, economic and social co-operation between the EU and Mediterranean countries.
Protesters welcomed the news that Bono had refused an invitation to speak at a celebration to mark the foundation of Israel.
Philip O'Connor of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said Gaza was being strangled economically, while the EU looked on and the Government here wrung its hands.
