Appeal to Mayo councillors to condemn Israel atrocities in Gaza
The Mayo branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is calling on all Mayo councillors to support a motion condemning Israel’s ongoing brutal assault on the civilian population of Gaza and for Mayo County Council to fly the Palestinian flag in solidarity with the Palestinian people during the month of November to include National Palestine Day on November 29.
The branch also want them to acknowledge the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (I.C.J), issued on July 19 last, which urges all States to immediately review all diplomatic, political, and economic interactions with Israel to ensure they do not support or provide aid or assistance to its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Ann DeBurca, chair of Mayo IPSC, has appealed the 30 councillors to support this motion as a matter of urgency.
She said: "It is unbelievable that it is approaching the one-year anniversary of the genocide in Gaza.
"We continue to be appalled by the atrocities being carried out on a daily basis by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank.
"While the confirmed death toll in Gaza stands at over 40,000 in July this year, the reputable British medical journal, The Lancet, estimated the true death toll to be close to 200,000.
"In August, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, reported that 'most of the dead are women and children.
"This unimaginable situation is overwhelmingly due to recurring failures by the Israeli Defense Forces to comply with the rules of war.'
"This has to end. The eyes of the world are on Gaza and the vast majority of the world is calling for an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be unimpeded from entering Gaza.
"The scale of the human suffering is unimaginable. We call on all of our councillors to support this motion before them at the October council meeting next week.
"We are seeking cross-party support for this motion to show Mayo’s solidarity with the people of Palestine."