Derry branch of Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign issues call to politicians ahead of St. Patrick’s Day

The chair of the Derry Branch – Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Catherine Hutton, has said she has ‘been struck by an unprecedented disconnection between those in positions of power and the voice of the people’ as she reiterated a call for Irish politicians to boycott the White House on St. Patrick’s Day.
By Staff Reporter
Published 11th Mar 2024, 12:39 BST
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In an open letter, Ms. Hutton, said: “We have tirelessly marched, protested, and boycotted, urging our politicians to take a principled stance against attending the White House festivities on St. Patrick’s Day.”

She spoke of the ongoing war in Gaza where over 25,000 women and children in Gaza have been killed under Israeli bombardment.

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“Shockingly, Pentagon sources have verified this grim statistic. Additionally, we are confronted with the plight of 17,000 unaccompanied Palestinian children in Gaza, left orphaned or separated from their families due to the Israeli bombings,” she said.

A Palestinian girl eats a piece of bread as people check debris on February 22, 2024, following overnight Israeli air strikes in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas continue. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)A Palestinian girl eats a piece of bread as people check debris on February 22, 2024, following overnight Israeli air strikes in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas continue. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
A Palestinian girl eats a piece of bread as people check debris on February 22, 2024, following overnight Israeli air strikes in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas continue. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Ms. Hutton said that it was ‘deeply troubling that we, as a people whose ancestors endured the horrors of deliberate starvation imposed by the British, are now witnessing our political representatives extend cordial gestures and exchange shamrocks with Joe Biden’.

She praised local MP Colum Eastwood who has said he would not attend the White House on St. Patrick’s Day. The SDLP leader has said his party are instead sending a delegation to Washington DC to meet with senior law makers, Irish-American leaders and Palestinian-Americans.

Ms. Hutton said: “As citizens, we wield a potent ‘weapon’ for effecting change: our votes. Should our elected officials persist in disregarding our calls for action, we must exercise our democratic prerogative to ensure that they are held accountable.

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“The gravity of genocide demands decisive action and moral fortitude. We must speak out, boycott, impose sanctions, and stand in solidarity with South Africa’s efforts to address the genocidal acts perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza by Israel.”

The Derry IPSC has reiterated its call for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland and has urged people to bring their Palestinian flags to local St. Patrick’s Day parades.

The Derry branch is running a bus to Belfast on Saturday, March 16, to join in a planned march to the US Consulate in protest at the ongoing war in Gaza. The bus will be leaving from the Central Library on Foyle Street at 9.30am. Tickets can be booked via Eventbrite.

Related topics:DerryColum EastwoodIrelandGaza