Plea to Mayo people 'to put pressure on President Biden over Palestine genocide'

A plea has been issued to the people of Mayo to put whatever pressure they can on US President Joe Biden to take firm action in respect of the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

The urgent appeal was made in Castlebar yesterday by Dr. Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland.

She was speaking at the 25th annual Mayo Disapora Awards ceremony hosted by the county's Emigrant Liaison Committee.

The ambassador said Mayo is a county with which President Biden has great affinity because his ancestors emigrated to America from the region.

Consequently, Mayo people should utilise whatever influence they have with President Biden in order to influence him to take decisive action to end the genocidal war being waged by Israel against Palestine.

In her 16-minute speech, she said the government in Israel has breached every article of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide over the past 11 months and the casualty rate has been horrendous.

She hit out: "They are doing so without fear of international consequences like sanctions and this is of grave concern to my people.

"President Biden must recognise the state of Palestine in the same way as the Irish government has done.

"This is our home and we will not bow to this violent and illegal campaign to exterminate and uproot our people.

"This is our home land and we will remain in it. We will never allow it to be destroyed."

"But we need the help of international leaders to bring this genocidal work against us to an end, a war in which defenceless mothers and their children are being murdered on a daily basis."