Time to end apartheid of the Palestinian people

Yesterday, May 15, marked the 68th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe), the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their ancestral homes, the destruction of hundreds ofvillages in historic Palestine, massacres, and all the collective trauma inflicted to facilitate the establishment of the state of Israel.

There are now almost 8m Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons in the world, their legally enshrined right of return denied by Israel.

Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, still more imprisoned, made homeless, and subjected to this cruel, decades-long occupation.

There are more than 50 laws discriminating against the Palestinian citizens of Israel, de facto apartheid.

In Gaza almost 2m people live under siege in miserable conditions with as few as four hours electricity per day and water so polluted that the United Nations estimates that 96% of it is unsafe to drink.

The people are not only subjected to the violence of a blockade but also to regular military assaults, the last killing more than 2,250, more than 550 of them children.

While so many governments, including the Irish one, continue to grant Israel impunity by not sanctioning its crimes against humanity, civil society has a major role to play in supporting the Palestinian struggle for justice — we can all participate in the growing BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement and play our part in ending the ongoing Nakba.

Zoe Lawlor

Co-ordinator, Gaza Action Ireland

108 Dooradoyle Park

Dooradoyle

Limerick