Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris is considering plans for Ireland to hold a national day of solidarity in support of the people of Gaza.
Mr Harris said a proposal for a national day of solidarity was a “sensible and a good idea”.
The proposal was made by Michael Cush and appeared in the letters page of The Irish Times on Thursday.
“The Government has been brave and consistent in its condemnation of the atrocities in Gaza. But it has been frustrated, too,” Mr Cush wrote. “But, together, the Government and the people might be much more influential.
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“If the Government were to call a national day of protest, making clear that it was a condemnation of atrocities in Gaza, not of Israel’s right to self-determination or self-defence, the turnout would likely be enormous,” the letter said.
In a post on his Instagram account on Saturday, Mr Harris shared the letter and said that the people of Ireland “stand with the people of Palestine”.
“We stand for human rights, for international law, for a two state solution, for aid to flow, for hostages to be released. We stand for peace. We stand for an end to genocide,” Mr Harris said.
“The suggestion for a national day or moment of solidarity made by Michael Cush in the letter above is sensible and a good idea. It could be powerful if many countries did it together. I will now talk to colleagues on how to make this happen.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) said this week that almost a third of people in Gaza are “not eating for days”, and that the crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation”.
The WFP, which is the United Nations food agency, said 90,000 women and children are now in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition. It also said 470,000 people are expected to face “catastrophic hunger” between May and September this year.
