Emergency motion submitted to Dublin City Council calls for Palestinian flag to be flown above City Hall

An emergency motion submitted to Dublin City Hall calls for the Palestinian flag to be flown above City Hall, in an “act of solidarity with the people of Gaza."

The motion, submitted by the Independent Group of councillors, calls for the flag to be erected above the City Hall for a week, in an international show of solidarity, following the IDF bombing of the Gaza strip.

The council will hold its monthly meeting this evening, wherein the emergency motion will be fully addressed.

The Independent Group has stated that the “support for the Ukrainian people shown by Dublin City Council in the aftermath of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine has set a precedent."

It said that the “indiscriminate targeting of people in Gaza, similar to the indiscriminate targeting of the Ukrainian people, warrants an equivalent public display of opposition."

The group's leader, councillor Cieran Perry said that close to 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since war broke out, including over 3,600 children.

Pro-Palestine protest in Dublin. Saturday 14th of October 2023. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

The territory has seen sustained retaliatory airstrikes, following Hamas's armed incursion into Southern Israel on October 7th. The IDF's continued military assault of Gaza has seen the bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp, the bombardment of residential areas, and an explosion at Al-Ahli hospital, killing more than 470 people — as per the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“Every effort must be made to stop the slaughter and tackle the humanitarian crisis caused by the relentless assault on the population of Gaza,” said Perry.

He added: “The flying of the Palestinian flag will show our disgust at the continuation of the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians, and hopefully encourage an immediate ceasefire.”

Last Wednesday, Tánaiste Michaél Martin joined neighbouring Middle Eastern countries in denouncing the military responses of Israel, saying: "We now urgently need a humanitarian ceasefire and a significant scaling up of humanitarian access to get vital supplies to civilians."

My statement on the situation in Gaza pic.twitter.com/ZMCH54CLJ9

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) November 1, 2023

Councillor Noeleen Reilly meanwhile said that “flying the flag will offer public support for the people of Gaza and increase the pressure for an immediate ceasefire."

Likewise, former Lord Mayor of Dublin and Independent councillor Christy Burke said: “The hypocrisy of world leaders rightly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine while supporting or ignoring the indiscriminate Israeli targeting of innocent people in Gaza is disgraceful.

“The world cannot stand idly by while the massacre of the people of Gaza takes place before our eyes.”

The emergency motion is backed by Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit.