Tánaiste Micheál Martin stressed the need for the global community to urge Israel to halt their meticulous inspection of each lorry carrying aid to Gaza. Delivering his address in Cork, he highlighted the persistent hinderance caused by Israel’s rigorous scrutiny of every aid-conveying vehicle, crippling the swift dispersion of crucial nourishment and medicinal assistance. His proposed solution is allowing the aid lorries waiting at the other side of the border entry into Gaza.
He lamented the decreased count of trucks making their way into the region, stating “An alarming decline in the number of lorries entering Gaza is noted, making the situation even more dire.” He implored the international community to encourage Israel to relinquish their stringent perusal of every lorry making an entrance into Gaza via Kerem Shalom and Rafah. “Prior to the war, the number of lorries making the journey was at 500 a day. That figure has now plunged to 150 and on some occasions, only 59,” he elaborated.
Affirming the diminished aid received by Gaza following the International Court of Justice’s provisional rulings in a South African litigation that mandated Israel to prevent genocidal deeds, Mr Martin slammed the situation as “appalling and intolerable”. Despite Ireland collaborating with Jordan on air drop operations and the EU and US aiming to set up a temporary port in Gaza for aid dispatch from Cyprus, he remains adamant that road continues to be the most efficient conveyance mode for essential provisions.
Lastly, he pointed out that despite the necessity of these operations, the primary concern here is ensuring that the most robust and straightforward method of delivering aid to Gaza is facilitated, emphasizing the necessity of securing an adequate number of lorries that can truly make a difference. Over a thousand protestors at a Palestinian rally in Cork echoed calls for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Irish Government to boycott their St Patrick’s Day delegation to Washington, in protest against the US’s $3 billion military aid to Israel annually.
Martin Shiel, co-chairperson of the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, expressed that in light of the World Health Organisation’s alert of increasing child mortality rates in northern Gaza, the US should cease their weapons distribution to Israel and instead insist on Israel permitting aid entry into the region.
The Gaza Strip is currently experiencing widespread hunger and extreme malnutrition. Approximately 2.2 million Palestinians are contending with intense scarcities, a direct result of food supplies being decimated and severe restrictions imposed on the influx of food, drugs and other necessary humanitarian provisions by Israel.
Aid vehicles, holding much-needed supplies, find themselves mere miles away from their intended destinations yet are denied access by Israeli forces. The agency Unrwa, equipped and prepared for the task, is fully capable of managing the spread of such aid, thus eliminating the need for airlifts, makeshift ports or Cyprus shipments.
Mr Shiel has pointed out that Mr Varadkar now has the chance to express Irish citizens’ revulsion towards the current situation in Gaza and America’s role in facilitating Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian population. This can be achieved by breaking with tradition, in particular, not attending the customary St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House.
Our appeal to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian population and with the myriad of Americans lobbying their government to cease weaponising the genocide. This can be accomplished by a straightforward action – declining the upcoming meeting with Joe Biden on St. Patrick’s Day and respectfully rejecting the tradition of presenting him with a bowl of shamrock.
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