Derry MLA speaks at London Palestine rally

The Foyle MLA joined a host of rights activists from across the world in central London last weekend, including Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi, who was jailed last year for resisting an Israeli soldier.

Ms. Mullan said it had been an honour to speak at the rally, adding that it had come at a critical time for the Palestinian people “with the current ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza.”

She said: “This is a crisis that is being ignored by many in the international community but the facts cannot be ignored.”

She said men, women and children were being killed on a daily basis by the Israeli forces, including, she claimed, “children playing as children do across the world and should be able to do in Palestine too.

“It also includes doctors and medics, journalists and others who are there to protect others and to bring the truth to the world.

“We need to see the international community standing up and taking a stand in support of the Palestinian people - in support of international law and the most basic of all human rights - and confronting the Israeli government. The wider international community now needs to act.

“In particular, I am calling on the Irish Government to reflect the views of the people of Ireland and recognise the state of Palestine. This would send a clear message to the people of Palestine that you are not alone and also to Israel that this aggression will not be tolerated.”