Irish Parliament accuses Israel of “ongoing genocide in Gaza” and announces support for South African complaint to ICJ

The Irish parliament adopted a non-binding motion affirming that “a genocide is underway in Gaza”. This declaration represents a strong stance by Ireland regarding the situation in this region. Michael Martin, Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, also announced that Ireland would intervene by the end of the year to support South Africa’s complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which accuses Israel to deliberately target the Palestinians.

Ireland plans to support a strict interpretation of the Genocide Convention to strengthen the protection of civilians. Furthermore, the Irish government is studying the possibility of sanctions against Israel, such as trade restrictions with Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. However, European Union trade rules limit unilateral actions by member states, hampering Irish initiatives.

During the debate, Social Democratic MP Jennifer Whitmore criticized the government, saying it was not exploiting all options to end the violence and introduce sanctions.