Irish in the West Bank: An existence of harassment, forced body searches, and arbitrary rules

Two women, one from Cork and one from Waterford, describe the daily humiliation experienced by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank

Alia Mlehat, 27, from al-Mu’arrajat, whose community is under threat of displacement. Picture: Tom Clarke/Hannah McCarthy Photography

Lesley Kavanagh was driving to work one day in Waterford listening to the radio when she heard the late Marian Finucane interviewing a woman about her work documenting rights abuses in the occupied West Bank.

“I remember just thinking, ‘what the hell is going on over there?’” she says.