The Social Democrats will bring a motion before the D\u00e1il next week calling on the Government to finally act in response to Israel\u2019s year-long genocidal campaign in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Party leader Holly Cairns said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Government has less than a week left in office and time is running out for Ireland to meaningfully act in the face of Israel\u2019s brutal military onslaught, which has seen 150,000 people killed or injured in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite their repeated statements of condemnation, the Irish Government won\u2019t even use the word genocide to describe the mass slaughter of Palestinians by Israeli forces. This is despite the fact that Ireland ratified the Genocide Convention in 1976.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Social Democrats offered the Government our D\u00e1il time next week to allow for the enactment of the long overdue Occupied Territories Bill. Regrettably, but predictably, this offer was declined.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, we will now bring forward a motion next Thursday \u2013 in what are expected to be the final hours of the current administration \u2013 to ask the D\u00e1il to agree that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide, and for the Government to take action to stop it. This means trade, travel and diplomatic sanctions, as well as a complete ban on Irish airspace being used for the transfer of weapons to Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith more than 43,000 now confirmed dead since this conflict began \u2013 two thirds of whom are women and children \u2013 we are watching a genocide unfold in front of our eyes while Western leaders sit idly by. What is it going to take for the world to act?\u201d<\/p>\n