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SOUTH DUBLIN IS set to see the Palestinian flag fly over the County Hall in Tallaght for a month in solidarity with the “oppressed people of Palestine”.
The motion, proposed by Sinn Féin councillor Enda Fanning, passed by majority at yesterday’s South Dublin County Council meeting.
No member of the council voted against the motion.
South Dublin County Council will become the fourth Irish local authority to fly the Palestinian flag, following in the footsteps of Dublin City Council, Galway County Council and Sligo County Council, who all voted to fly the flag in recent months.
Councillor Fanning said that the move sends a “small message of solidarity to the people of Palestine”.
The motion read:
Following the example set by Dublin City Council, this Council will fly the flag of Palestine over County Hall for a month in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.
Fanning said: “It is only three short years this week since the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which lasted for seven weeks, began in the summer of 2014.
“I am delighted with [the] vote in solidarity with the people of Palestine. It might seem like a very small gesture but I know from the reaction to similar decisions made by other councils that today’s vote will be applauded across Palestine and elsewhere.”
It has not yet been decided when the flag will be raised about County Hall.
Dublin City Council
Dublin City was the first council to pass a motion to fly the Palestinian.
The flag flew over Dublin’s City Hall for the month of May.
Forty-two councillors voted in favour of the motion, while 11 voted against and seven abstained from voting.
Irish4Israel condemned the decision at the time, stating that “such a move would have an extremely negative impact on Dublin’s international image and tourism”.
“It is quite staggering and almost admirable that these public figures spoke with such arrogant conviction, while having such little historical knowledge of the conflict and its complexities. Most rattled off a few rehashed old buzzwords while remaining comfortable in their simplistic black and white world view,” the organisation said.
Commenting on South Dublin County Council’s decision, the orgainsation said:
“Irish4Israel is disappointed to see our civic buildings being used for one sided political gestures.”
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Why not? We were under brutal occupation ourselves for long enough, it’s nice to show a bit of solidarity.
@roscommonman: Then they should fly the Ukrainian flag next month.
@roscommonman: Brutal occupation yea right. Sympathising with Islamic terrorists now are we? IS don’t need to invade this country when we have loons in this country already flying their flags over government building.
@Mick Jordan: Whatever, call the Council and suggest it then.
@roscommonman: it’s gesture politics. The council would never fly a Tibet flag. Or Western Sahara, Crimea, etc because nobody in Ireland gives a shite about those occupations.
@Mick Jordan: fly the Ukraine flag for the neo nazis in power there , do some research
@roscommonman: I would prefer see the Dublin south county council spend their time and efforts addressing all the problems of Dublin , for the people of Dublin and stop wasting their time and efforts on international politics – I am pretty sure 99% of people in Dublin have a very long list of issues and items that need fixing (way to long to list here ) and if asked would probably prefer that the Councillors would stop faffing with these distractions
@Mick Jordan: fly the flag for the neo nazis running Ukraine , a president who has less that 30% approval . Stop believing the media and do some research
not in my name
@Dave Hammond: i’m pretty sure they can work on other things at the same time.
@Dave Hammond: Agreed, it’s bizarre that people who are supposed to be in charge of bin collections are making foreign policy statements. Whatever makes them feel important I guess.
After being the option to spend the the rest of your life in either, spend six months in Israel then spend six months in Palestine, or any majority-Muslim nation, and you’ll be banging down the door of Israel to be let back in.
The flag flying is at best hopelessly naive.
@Dave Hammond: How does a flag stop them from working? What a strange comment.
this does about as much good as liking something on facebook
@james connolly: Well proudly in mine , a simple gesture but it means a lot to the Palestinian people , and yes they will see it ..
@james connolly: I don’t think they are flying it over Belfast cityhall.Have they taken down the “Ulster says No !” Fleg yet,Diarmuid?
@james connolly: So don’t be worrying about it then.
@roscommonman: solidarity with terrorists. Funny the same people who would slate sinn fein for far less, support these corrupt criminals
@P heals: Someone has been listening to RT or Sputnik for their news!!!
@Liam: remember when they banned the use of cluster munitions?
@P heals:
You don’t think Hamas are islamofascist nazis??
@roscommonman:
Yeah let’s fly the flag of the oppressed Islamic terrorist organisation, Hamas.
@Mick Jordan: RT beats RTE any day of the week.
@roscommonman: I am sure it does. But why would RTE be pushing Russian State Propaganda?
@Mick Micky: So tell us were Connolly, Pearse, DeValera, Collins etc etc terrorists for resisting occupation, were the French resistance, the Danish resistance etc etc terrorists for resisting occupation ? And are you saying that all Palestinians are terrorists ?
@Robby Fenian Martin:
There is no occupation in Gaza and Gaza is run by Hamas who are a designated terrorist organisation,Hamas don’t give a crap about Palestinians only the destruction of the Jewish state, at any cost.
@Mick Jordan: It has no problem pushing Fine Gael propaganda.
@roscommonman:I am sure they don’t. But I don’t see the connection between Russian State backed propaganda about Ukraine and RTE and Fine Gael.
@Rowe: Despite Israel ‘s extensive control over the Gaza Strip, in its decision on the disengagement plan, the government stated that implementation of the plan would “invalidate the claims against Israel regarding its responsibility for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” In response to several petitions filed in the High Court of Justice following implementation of the disengagement plan, the State Attorney’s Office has argued that, with the termination of the military government in the Gaza Strip, Israel has no obligation whatsoever under international law toward residents of Gaza, who should now direct all their claims and requests to the Palestinian Authority. Implicit in this claim is that Israel ‘s control over the lives of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, described above, exists in a normative vacuum in which Israel is not responsible for its acts and their consequences. As we shall see below, the argument is baseless, both under international humanitarian law and under international human rights law.
One source of the obligations imposed on Israel toward residents of the Gaza Strip is the laws of occupation, which are incorporated in the Hague Convention (1907) and in the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). These laws impose general responsibility on the occupying state for the safety and welfare of civilians living in the occupied territory. The laws of occupation apply if a state has “effective control” over the territory in question. The High Court has held contrary to Israel ‘s claim, stating that the creation and continuation of an occupation does not depend on the existence of an institution administering the lives of the local population, but only on the extent of its military control in the area. Furthermore, a certain area may be deemed occupied even if the army does not have a fixed presence throughout the whole area. Leading experts in humanitarian law maintain that effective control may also exist when the army controls key points in a particular area, reflecting its power over the entire area and preventing an alternative central government from formulating and carrying out its powers. The broad scope of Israeli control in the Gaza Strip, which exists despite the lack of a physical presence of IDF soldiers in the territory, creates a reasonable basis for the assumption that this control amounts to “effective control,” such that the laws of occupation continue to apply.
Even if Israel ‘s control in the Gaza Strip does not amount to “effective control” and the territory is not considered occupied, Israel still bears certain responsibilities under international humanitarian law. IHL is not limited to protecting civilians living under occupation, but includes provisions intended to protect civilians during an armed conflict, regardless of the status of the territory in which they live. Given that Israel contends that an armed conflict exists between it and the Palestinian organizations fighting against it, which has continued even after the disengagement, such provisions apply. These provisions are found, for example, in the Fourth Geneva Convention, pursuant to which Israel must protect the wounded, sick, children under age fifteen, and pregnant women, enable the free passage of medicines and essential foodstuffs, enable medical teams to provide assistance, and refrain from imposing collective punishment.
Another legal source for Israel ‘s responsibility towards the residents of the Gaza Strip is derived from international human rights law. The founding instrument of this branch of law is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Its principal provisions have been enshrined over the years in six international conventions that have been adopted by the United Nations and ratified by Israel . These conventions recognize the right of every person to freedom of movement, to work, to an adequate standard of living, to education, to adequate health care, and to family life. Each party to the conventions undertakes to carry out the provisions not only inside its own sovereign territory, but also as regards persons under its control.
According to the UN Human Rights Committee, which is composed of independent experts from around the world, the main question in determining a state’s responsibility relating to a certain act is not whether the act was carried out in the state’s sovereign territory, but the nature of the relations between the individual harmed and the state. In other words, the responsibility of a state to respect the human rights of a particular population is a function of the state’s control over the population, and not necessarily the status of the territory in which the population lives. This conclusion is also inevitable in light of the universal principle that, in the language of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Thus, Israel cannot evade its legal responsibility to respect the human rights of residents of the Gaza Strip in those areas of life that Israel controls. Even after the disengagement, Israel continues to bear legal responsibility for the consequences of its actions and omissions concerning residents of the Gaza Strip. This responsibility is unrelated to the question of whether Israel continues to be the occupier of the Gaza Strip.
http://www.btselem.org/gaza_strip/israels_obligations
Very simplistic view of conflict….More complex that that…Cant judge conflict as if it was Northern Ireland….HAMAS want total destruction of Isreal as does Hezbollah and Iran….Isreal is the size of Munster surrounded by enemies…Yet they have tried many times to have peace …over a million Arabs live in state of Isreal….All jews were driven out of Arab countries decades ago…Dont understand why SF hate Isreal so much….
@John003: with you being such an epxert on Hamas you obviously haven’t heard that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas dropped its longstanding call for Israel’s destruction this year.
@Simon Patrick McGrath: and we are supposed to believe them? They’re not exactly a trustworthy group now are they?
@John003: You’re a real expert, four times you spelled it “Isreal”.
@Simon Patrick McGrath: That is not exactly correct…They said they will allow Isreal to go back to its 67 borders first make Isreal not much bigger than Cork and Kerry…Then over a period of time Jews will leave to be negotiated ….No change in HAMAS position if Isreal does not give up most of its land….
@Cian: but they’re oppressed brown people surely they wouldn’t lie :O
@John003: if I was Palestinian I’d also likely want the total destruction of Israel considering chances are a few members of my family would’ve been murderers by the cowardly ‘Jewish state’.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: Are those the chances though? Around 30 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF this year, virtually all of whom had attacked Israeli civilians or the IDF and were neutralised.
I’d love to know how Israel is cowardly, considering it took on 5 Arab states (surrounded by a further 7) and beat the absolute living shite out of them. Success breeds jealousy i suppose.
@Liam: supported* not surrounded
@Cian: another expert in our midst.
@John003: how about going back to a time before the balfour act came into being?
@Simon Patrick McGrath: you beat me to it i was going to tell him!!
@John003: you need to go back and learn the true history!!
@Simon Patrick McGrath: no expert but anyone with half a brain can tell hamas are not to be trusted
@John003: many many decades ago the majority of jews lived in europe and it’s only when they wanted their own state and a”safe haven” that they decided to move there ,first buying lands from arab owners to built jewish settlements and then expelling them,it’s only in 1948 when the UN &especially great britain who had control of the territory gave some land to the jews with real partitions if you compare maps from 1948& today’s you’ll realise what they’ve been doing since,partitions have been moved illegally and by force ,building illegal settlements,the arabs are the ones who are& have been removed kicked out of their homes through genocide&cultural cleansing!!
@Simon Patrick McGrath: no they haven’t. They dropped it from an election manifesto. It is still in there charter and was again called for at an Al-Quds rally the other week.
Do a bit of research before you correct others.
@John003: soth coco bunch of anti semites
@Simon Patrick McGrath:
Oh ok great they recently said they don’t want absolute destruction of Israel. Now they’re sound!
@Simon Patrick McGrath: Still don’t recognise Israel, and says a Palestinian state in pre ’67 borders is only temporary. Read it instead of taking their word for it. And remember, they regard the liberation of Palestine as a religous imperative, so when you decide to take what they say as truth, remember Sura 3:28. They have a religous exemption from lying to unbelievers(that’s you). And don’t say I’m cherry picking, or taking out of context, 3:28 is the word of their prophet. Good muslims are obliged to follow these instructions.
@John003: You forgot to mention “john” that Israel has nuclear weapons…being the size of munster and all
@John003: Even if Israel allowed a Palestinian state on the ’67 lines Palestine would still be smaller than Israel, standing on about 22% of it’s original land. So I guess going by your comment you have no problem with Israel wiping Palestine off the map and ethnically cleansing the Palestinians to do so.
@Craig Barry: Yeah which guarantees that Israel won’t be attacked by its neighbours again anytime soon, not bad for a state the size of Munster.
@Simon Patrick McGrath:
Yeah that’s called “Taqiyya”… look it up.
@Simon Patrick McGrath: no it did not
@Frederic Slimane
The British stopped Jews getting into Palestine
Fleeing the Nazis they were called “illegal immigrants”
: the UN proposed two states in 1947 and did nothing
The Arabs started a Civil war. which in effect is still going on
Arabs demand and do live anywhere they want
why are Jewish homes. ” Illegal” ?
How many of the Councillors voted in favour of this gesture to avoid being called anti Islam or racist? Commendable as it might be, flying the Palestinian flag, why not fly the Israeli flag beside it to show solidarity with a properly set up two State solution?
@John Campbell: Don’t make me laugh, this same state has been isolated and used by every other one of its wealthy Arab neighbours. They don’t want it’s immigrants and aren’t opening their doors to their poor beseiged brothers. They’ll happily fund terrorism and weapons to fight the small satan, Israel though.
Israel would happily get rid of Palestine if they could, the don’t want the thousands of rockets and mortars lobbed their way each year. Most decent Palestinians don’t want to live in fear, they don’t want to live under the yoke of Hamas and Hezbollah, don’t want their children turned into suicide bombers. They don’t want their taxes going towards weapons, tunnels and martyr payments – payments paid to the families of those killed blowing themselves up fighting Israelis.
But what the hell, let’s glorify this, lets listen to another group with plenty of experience in this area and pretend it’s all black and white. Lets pretend there isn’t 20% of the population of Israel muslim and muslim members of it’s parliament, let’s pretend a jew would be even safe in a muslim country. Let’s pretend we would.
@Jed I. Knight: while you’re at it, lets also pretend those 20% of israeli muslim arabs have the same rights as israeli jews
@Craig Barry: They have. They are Israeli citizens.
@Jed I. Knight: they are not treated the same which was my initial point
@Jed I. Knight: Do you even know when there last was a suicide bomber ? Do you know how many rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel since the last cease fire agreement after Israel’s massacre on Gaza in 2014, killing over 550 Palestinian children, an agreement Israel broke within a couple of days and has consistently violated since. And do you know how many Israeli’s have been killed by rockets since that cease fire and how many Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the same time period ? Oh and BTW Palestinians don’t live under the yoke of Hezbollah, Hezbollah are Lebanese not Palestinian, they have no presence in Palestine. And finally how do you know what Palestinians under occupation think or want, have you spoken to them all ? But what the hell, lets paint the Palestinians as black and pretend the Israeli’s are whiter than white, now back to you at hasbara central.
@John Campbell: are we not supposed to be a neutral state?
Personally I don’t see a problem whatsoever
@Andrew Giles: My only question is why the obsession with Palestine. Why not Tibet? Why not Irian Jaya? Their native populations have suffered as badly as, if not worse than Palestine’s.
@Chris Mansfield: that is a question for The South Dublin County Council, not me.
@Chris Mansfield:
I wonder how many of the people who show solidarity with Palestine would welcome their citizens as refugees/economic migrants
@Thinck: Well said!
@Chris Mansfield: It’s quite simple Chris. It’s because nobody in Ireland gives a flying shite about any other occupation. For some bizarre reason, the Israeli one is the only one worth caring about. Irish politicians hardly ever speak of other occupations because they know their voter base don’t care. These gestures are just the left-wing pandering to their base for votes.
the hamas child slaves will be delighted with the support
@Liam: you are right Liam, it is an Occupation
@Thinck: I’d happily welcome them but they are not allowed to leave by their oppressors.
It’s nothing to do with Palestinians. There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians held in Jordanian “refugee” camps, where they have been sine 1948. No one cares about them. Most of the flag wavers have never even heard of Black September.
It is about Israel. Israel (a) is western in outlook, (b) moved from a socialist economy to a free one, (c) has made a better go of it than the embarrassing show put on by the neighbours, and (d) won the wars waged against it. That is the perfect storm. You don’t even need any anti-Semitism to explain why it drives the left into impotent rage.
@Thinck: why should they leave their own country?
@Cathal Mac Einri: well, it’s not really, in the legal sense it cannot be an occupation as the land was not under Palestinian sovereignty at any point in history. It’s just more convenient to refer to it as such.
@Deborah Behan: I’d be a bit wary of importing people who support suicide bombing against civilians targets or people who support killing apostates…
@Thinck: Israel certainly wont be welcoming them :-)
Palestine still demands the annihilation of Israel right?
@gregory: and the gays and any other undesirable Sharia law objects to.
@gregory: understandable
@gregory: no. Palestine is a country who doesn’t demand anything except statehood. Certain organisations previously supported “the destruction of Israel” (actually, the removal of Knesset control over all citizens in a wider Palestine), but they have toned that down. It’s also overwhelming that taken a jackboot from the neck of a state will allow them to become more progressive and allow full women’s rights and protect minorities. Stiffling education, internet access, and communication means that only these Sharia based oppressions are shared. It’s like Israel deliberately likes keeping us neighbours in the stone age for political reasons.
@gregory: wrong. Only if you are a fanatical Zionist would you believe such rubbish.
@Gulliver Foyle: Palestine has never existed as a country. It began as a Roman Province, was lost to alternative Muslim Emirs, then fell into the hands of a couple of French Dukes, who’s descendents lost it Saladin and his crew who were based in Damascus they then lost it to Egyptian based Muslims who in turn lost it to the Turks who gave it over to the British after WW1. And they in turn gave it to the Jews to make up for what happened during the Holocaust. Palestine as a country is an aspiration of the native Muslim population.
@Mick Jordan: …and Israel never existed as a country before 1949. What’s your point?
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: Actually it did. Although it was several thousand years ago. It did exist historically. And we know this not only from biblical stories but from hieroglyphs in Egypt and Babylonian Cuniform writings.
@Shane Kinsella: and Israel demands the destruction of palestine, man, woman or child..
@Cormac Ó Braonáin:
It has, it is mentioned in the “Egyptian Stele” or “Merneptah Stele” from ancient Egypt.
@Rowe: @Mick Jordan Well except for the fact that the Israel and Israelis today are not the same ‘people’ as the one you’re referring to a couple of thousand years ago.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin:
Just as the Palestinians are not the Philistines
Great show of support
@DubKid:
Shouldn’t be flying any symbol of hate or either side in a conflict which has nothing to do with us.. a suicide bomber is just as good at killing innocents as a F16
@TheJeff: How does this have anything to do with a suicide bomber. They’re showing solidarity with an oppressed people not with a terrorist organisation. When council across Europe flew the Irish flag they were supporting the Irish people, not the IRA.
@Éamonn Flynn:
I believe that the current government of the West Bank “Hamas” have been very keen on suicide bombers down the years, thankful now stopped since Israel build the wall and stop them. As far as i know the Irish Gov did not have a official armed wing blowing up pubs in UK. If it did i doubt Ireland would be in the EU never mind the council of Europe.
@Éamonn Flynn: the support for suicide bombing against civilians targets is staggering among Palestinians. Not to mention the support for the oppression of Palestinian minorities eg. Killing apostates…
@Cian: 56% of Palestinians think suicide bombings on civilians are justified to “defend Islam”.
84% want to stone people who commit adultery.
66% think there should be a death penalty for apostasy.
76% believe in corporal punishment for petty crimes such as theft.
93% believe homosexuality should not be accepted in society.
Yet for some reason, lefties and so-called liberals worship these illiberal, Stone Age-mentality barbarians.
@Liam: apparently that’s israels fault too according to another commenter lol
@TheJeff: So by your logic you compare a suicide bomber to an F16… would you also compare a hurley to an AK47?
@Craig Barry: Hurleys tend not to blow people up into 1000 pieces Craig. That’s potentially one of the worst comparisons I’ve ever seen. Then again, I don’t exactly expect high intelligence from a person who thinks everyone that disagrees with him is a troll posting under a fake name.
@Craig Barry:
Got to the most stupid comment i seen in a while but let me point out the difference
A Hurley isn’t a Weapon of War..
@Liam: by your logic a suicide bomber is worse than an F16 fighter jet …yeah very comparable aren’t they
@TheJeff: Actually Israel built the Apartheid wall to segregate Palestinians from Israeli’s, to steal land, and to make life as hard as possible for Palestinians in the WB, ie persecution. Thousands of Palestinians cross legally & illegally into Israel, if they wanted to attack Israel with suicide bombers they could. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ben-white/did-israeli-apartheid-wall-really-stop-suicide-bombings
@Robby Fenian Martin:. (Hamas Bot)
BS, there are no VBIEDS because of better security measures and the wall, so the terrorists have resorted to firing rockets from schools and hospitals, Stab and vehicle Jihad like the cowards they are. Egypt is free to absorb Gaza back into its territory but it too wants nothing to do with it, why is that?
@Liam: and your source for this BS is ???
@Robby Fenian Martin: pew research. Look it up
@Robby Fenian Martin: rubbish from Ben White.. absolute tripe
Get out the Israeli flag and fly it high and proud. About time we stood up to these virture signalling lefty mafia coucillors.
@Fred Jensen: lol, go on then! We’ll be right behind you!
@Fred Jensen: shalom Fred..I believe they fly the Israeli flag up in east Belfast …lovely folks
This kind of flag waving victim identity gestures need to be outlawed and only Irish provincial and national flags allowed on any government building. This projecting of supposed sensibilities on to a people and situation that doesn’t compare should not come from public representatives.
So it’s Terrorism and Anti-Semitism Month in South Dublin?
Are there any events organised?
@Damocles: Of course not. That would involve the council Doing Its Job.
Definitely not in my name. Fly both flags or none. Does the SF councillor who proposed this have an opinion on the, often brutal, suppression of democratic politics in Gaza? Opposition parties are banned, no elections, opposition activists beated, jailed, shot, killed. Its a shameless masterclass in moral relativism. Mind you SF have historical form in suppressing dissenting voices themselves.
Irish lefties dropping all pretence, and straight up supporting Islamic terrorism
@Irreverent Reverend: They’re not and have never advocated for the flag of ISIS to be flown.
@Dave Doyle:
Do you think IS are the only islamic terrorist group? Seriously??
@Avina Laaf: I find the israelis more threatening than the ISIS lunactics..thats saying something
@Craig Barry: says something about you alright. I think the yazidis might have a different conclusion.
@Cian: of course they would
@Craig Barry:
So Islamic State, a group that represents the purest, archaic and most oppressive form of Islam is deemed more of a threat than Israelis? The same IS that burn non Muslims or the wrong kind of Muslims alive in cages, that crucify Christians, that rape Women and Children and behead their husbands and fathers, the same IS who’s Jihadis have blown children apart in Manchester and committed other acts of Jihad in Europe? All due respect, you’ve some moral compass…that’s saying something, wouldn’t surprise me if you shed a tear for Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
@Rowe: Perhaps you can explain why the “Islamic” ISIS never attacks Israel & vice versa despite them being next door too each other ?
@Robby Fenian Martin:
I’m guessing that Israel see Syria and Assad as a greater threat to Israel than Islamic State, also it would be a military disaster for Islamic State to open up a new front by attacking Israel, they would be technically surrounded by the SAA, Kurds, Turkish Military, other competing Jihadi head hackers and Israel, Islamic State, militarily are in decline as it is.
Irish4Israel, are they a proscribed organisation I wonder? Supporting apartheid does nothing for our image or tourism either.
@Atheos Euripides: supporting Palestinian terrorism doesn’t either
@Hurt Stoogie: hmm or supporting palestines right to defend itself from illegal settlers who are in breach of the Geneva convention..hmm a real head scratcher that one
@Craig Barry: Is that the excuse you used when a Palestinian broke into a house and decapitated a 3 month old Craig? Or when one went into a pizza place and blew up a load of kids having lunch?
@Hurt Stoogie: gaza city is a modern day concentration camp and you and all the people who think there terrorist are what’s wrong with this planet , yer called sheep kid
@Hurt Stoogie: It’s not a Hamas flag so your point is moot.
@Liam: “Liam” we’ll use that name for the purposes of this discussion..do you really want to go down the road of defending apartheid? my point is when someone invades your home and in direct contravention to the Geneva convention do they not have a right to defend ? Presumably you support the unionists in the north?
@P heals: That is because Hamas have made it one. The Egyptians closed their borders to it because of Hamas’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Isreal has closed it due to Hamas’s acts of terrorism.
@Craig Barry:
It takes a special kind of mental gymnastics to equate decapitating a kid or throwing gays or political rivals from rooftops as ‘defending yourself against oppression’…
@Craig Barry: not sure what that first part is supposed to mean.. Liam is indeed my name. Apartheid where exactly? There’s Arabs in the Israeli parliament, army, police force, working in hospitals alongside Jews, etc. Compare this to REAL apartheid in South Africa, where black people had to sit on different benches to white people. I’ve just come back from a 2 week holiday in Israel and could not believe the amount of Arabs, all mixed in the with Jews going about their business without any bother at all.
It was really amusing to this supposed “apartheid”, with arabs dressed in trendy clothes, eating in fancy restaurants and taking pictures on their iPhone 7s. Arabs are freer in Israel than they are in virtually any Arab state.
@P heals: concentration camps don’t have brand new Japanese motorbikes, 5 star hotels, top quality restaurants and brand new smartphones. Stop with Nazi equivalences, it’s quite pathetic.
@Avina Laaf: or bombing the crap out of a country, cutting off food supplies, shooting children..yeah a special kind of mental gymnastics
@P heals: hamas are terrorists they bulldozed a 1000 year old byzantine church and other archaeolgical sites last year to build a jihad centre and the christians in gaza are prisoners in their own land
@Craig Barry: While we’re here Craig – here is a video of PATV (Palestinian Authority State Television) calling the murder of 22 Israeli children an act of heroism. https://youtu.be/WAc9NME1WeI
If you defend this, or support these people, you have severe issues. Unless of course you happen to agree that murdering children is heroic.
@Liam: I can see you have retorted to using the death of children in your argument, that is sad and disturbing but not surprising given your political persuasion..While we’re here “Liam” and after your pilgrimage to the homeland presumably you do not defend or support the murdering of innocent palestinian children by the Israeli government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at4-2DLLfjo
Or would you gloss over this as another religious nut who believes the jews are gods chosen people?
@Liam: So what excuse have you got for Israel wiping out entire family’s in Gaza in 2014 ? or what excuse have you got for the IOF riddling children in the WB with bullets, refusing to allow medics treat them and leaving them to bleed to death. Yeah I know, alleged stabbing attempts when rarely is anyone stabbed, yet fully grown men, trained in hand to hand combat, who often use pepper spray to disperse journalists in the same areas of the alleged attacks, can’t stop a small slight girl without shooting her 20 times, can you explain why ?
@Atheos Euripides:
You don’t know the meaning of Apartheid.
–
https://youtu.be/AcEL-NlxBk0
I know who id rather live next door and it wouldn’t be the one who wants my daughter to cover her head
What’s a Palestine? Never heard of them
@tae: and, until 1947 you had only ever heard of Israel in the Bible. That land has been occupied by so many over the Millennia, I think you would be hard pushed to figure out who actually belongs there.
@Andrew Giles: You would be wrong I’m not pushed at all. I thought Palestine was some sort of middle eastern holiday resort.
@Andrew Giles:
True, and yet Muslims claim The Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem as the 3rd holiest site in Islam and yet Jerusalem is not even mentioned once in the 26 versions of the Koran.
I live in Jobstown and am totally opposed to this. I watched videos recently of the palestinian government applauding gay men being thrown to their deaths from buildings and it sickened me. I see that flag, i see that. I have a gay brother and many gay friends so really am not happy about this.
I thought we were Neutral! Not a concern for a Co. Council!
This is an odd one to comment upon. On one hand local political offices should probably not be used for items like this but on the other hand, Israel deserves all the flak it gets.
As a country they are untouchable, protected by the devil (at least in all international political regards). There have been lots of votes in the UN regarding the illegal Israeli land grab, or Israel’s nuclear weapons. Amazingly these get little to none media attention. Every action is blocked by Israel’s Big Brother the United States.
Nuclear weapons are the big issue, under US law it is illegal for them to fund a state that has not signed up to the NPT and is breaking the law. Israel’s foreign funding accounts for a large proportion of the GDP were this to dry up things will change very fast.
@John Fergus: Israel gets $3 billion in US millitary aid around 5% of its GDP….Same as Jordan and Egypt between them….Israel has a very successful economy and tourism …Myth to say it depends on its GDP from US aid…One of its biggest export markets is actually Russia…
@John003: And it is the Russian jews who are the most savage of them all such as Lieberman who wants to annihilate are Palestinians.
@Paul Lane: The same Lieberman who recently offered to build a sea port, airport and create 40,000 jobs in Gaza if Hamas disarm? Yeah, he sure wants to annihilate them…
This Action together with other elements of the curiously widespread Irish Palestine protest is just another attempt by apologists for armed republican groups to retrospectively legitimise the northern Irish IRA campaign by association.
It is sad, but anyone who supports it is either complicit with or being used by terrorists.
Delighted to see this, although I wonder where the Israeli social media warriors are this morning?
@Craig Barry: Irony from a pro-Palestine social media warrior.
@Liam: difference between you and me is I know right from wrong..clearly your people nor their lobbyists know the difference
@Craig Barry:
If you know right from wrong then surely you’ll agree that the actions of both Israel and Hamas have been wrong.
I’ve have no problem with standing in solidarity with ordinary Palestinian people, but let’s not forget that they face oppression from Hamas as well as Israel.
@Avina Laaf: agreed, but I hold the instigators primarily responsible…
Yawn. More gesture politics from Sinn Fein.
What will this do to bring Israelis and Palestinians to the table ? NOTHING.
What it will do is get SF some Press inches and more publicity. SF use the Palestinian situation to get coverage in the media.
Absolute disgrace this act. 80% of the population of Palestine support terrorist groups like Hamas & the PLO. Who ever came up with this idea should be ashamed of themselves. No terrorist group should be supported
@Ciaran Kehoe: and 90% of Israel support obliterating Palestinian people and taking their land
@Craig Barry: Do you know any Israelis? I do and they do not support obliterating Palestinian people in any way shape or form.
@Keith Fay: Thank God Keith, the fact that you know a few israelis validates your point…
@Craig Barry: I knew you would be a. Rude and b. Not answer the question
@Ciaran Kehoe:
Its a disgrace that elected officials are flying the flags of areas that support terrorism from state buildings. Someone else stated here that it should only be Irish flags flying from those buildeings. I would have to agree.
Standing against the only democracy in the region in support of the creation of an Islamic dictatorship with brutal repression of women & gay people.
Ah sure they might as well throw a few gays off the roof while they’re up there
Not in my name.
I had a PLO scarf when I was a kid in the ’80s. Had no idea of the political statement I was making but lots of people had them and they were quite cool. Personally I preferred the black ones
The Jewish apartheid state must also be bycotted, divested and sanctioned and removed from having its special relationship with the EU as they have breached the conditions imposed on them by way of EU compliance. Unfortunately the rich and grubby jewish lobby is very strong in England and Germany where some councils in the U.K. prevent businesses from boycotting this illegal state as per UN resolution 242 of 1967.
@Paul Lane: Tell me about Jewish rights to live, vote, or work in the Palestinian territories? Tell me why Christian numbers in the PT are in freefall? You claim apartheid but ironically (or maybe deliberately) cannot see where the actual apartheid exists.
@Honeybadger197: Because there is little Palestinians territory of any value left which hasn’t been stolen by the jewish state and also because of the jewish states crimes against humanity who wants to live in a place where you can be bombed indiscriminately at any time, the jews don’t want that but then again they don’t have to because everything is rationed by the jews in these Palestinian internment camps. You lack of education regarding international law is embarrassing
@Paul Lane: YOUR lack of…
@Honeybadger197: everyone sees where apartheid exists despite you and your merry mens efforts to distort the truth via social media
@Honeybadger197: “Tell me why Christian numbers in the PT are in freefall?” I’ll let the Palestinian Christians answer that for you http://www.cbsnews.com/news/christians-of-the-holy-land/ – http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/christians-of-the-holy-land/
More Jew Hating lefties
@.: good contribution…if anyone has an opposing view to Israel they are anti semites
@Craig Barry: You literally just vomited this classic above “90% of Israel support obliterating Palestinian people and taking their land” now, where are you getting that from. Ironically 100% of the people I know from Israel are the complete opposite of that rubbish you posted. Did you conduct that study yourself Craig? Do you know anyone from Israel?
@Keith Fay: i’ve been to Israel, have you? or do you know a couple of israeli lads ? Do these lads speak for the israeli population? maybe they are the chosen ones? or maybe you have a gripe because you think all muslims hate gays and throw them off roofs etc etc… I know a couple of arab lads and they 100% behind LGBT rights…. the word narrow minded springs to mind
@Craig Barry: Yes I have been to Israel and my partner has been to Israel and Gaza. You are saying “Do these lads speak for the Israeli population” while you are blanket accusing the Israeli population, oh sorry – as you put it, 90% of the Israeli population, of wanting Palestinians dead. Glad you know some pro lgbt muslim lads but unfortunately it’s the government represented by this palestinian flag that support throwing them off buildings. Not the lads.
@Keith Fay: Keith my issue is with the Israeli government and their propaganda machine, I would never condone how some muslims treat gays, it’s horrific to put it midly. I cannot listen to the crap here every time that Israel is the victim ..they are the aggressors and have proven to be time and time again..they also believe they are not subject to the UN Geneva convention like everyone else..they are land grabbing and annihilating another people slowly but surely
Why would you fly a terrorist state flag
Shinners galore for this one
@James Grant: Ignorance of international law is not acceptable when peoples lives are at stake. Are you aware of UN resolution 242? And other failed sanctions or the fact the the UN veto (section 29 c) has been applied most in its history to veto sanctions against Israel?
@James Grant: Haim, should they fly the Israeli apartheid flag instead?
Since we have willingly consented to living under a EU dictatorship in any event , the EU flag prevails over all else, so Palestine and Irish flags are just tokens.
A little history might help…but I’ll not hold my breath as facts are not usually welcome with regard to this topic.
http://mickhartley.typepad.com/blog/2017/01/widening-the-lens-of-history.html
@Joseph Siddall:
Excellent link, the Hamas bed wetters fail to see the centuries old bigger picture.
Is it wrong to expect some basic knowledge before expressing such wide of the mark opinions? Is it due to our Irish media lack of coverage of the 60 year long conflict in Palestine?
We Irish came from a Colonialists background so sympathies towards the oppressed in natural. Some may recall the recent 100 year commemoration of the 1916 Rising. I can absolutely assure those lacking in our History that the Middle East interlopers are VERY aware of 1916 and later, having used our Irish tactics to first murder British forces and later slaughter native Palestinians. Indeed I strongly suspect that many comments here are directly from Zionist HG in Dublin, which accounts for a lack in any truth or reality. The difference is we arose to restore our culture, our religion, our games, our language, our freedom from oppressive foreigners whilst Zionists seek to steal natives’ land, using apartheid, sectarianism and violence in occupied Palestinian terrorises oPt. Of course non Irish will have little understanding of my comments with free land available.
Recently cowardly Zionist sky jockeys wiped our whole families in Gaza with one missile! More recently a mother with a child in Mosul blew up a bomb belt. Which was wrong? Innocents died in both incidents. One returned to murder even more children!
As the elected governance in Gaza Strip, Hamas have the DUTY to protect its citizens according to UN Rapporteur direction! Loving or hating Hamas is irrespective no more than loving or hating Trump! He is elected democratically as are Hamas.
Legitimacy to fly the Palestinian flag is based on “de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine”. Voting “NO” were NINE : Canada, Czech, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama and of course USA!! The Rest voted for recognition with a few abstaining.
At present, a total of 32 United Nations member states do not recognise Israel.
@Robert Hand: what history are you talking about . Ireland as part of the British army invaded half the planet over 400 years . You say we rose up to claim back our country . Actually we resisted independence and fought to defend a British and its empire . We where part of Britain for soo long cause we chose to be .
@Tommy Whelan: ” We where part of Britain for soo long cause we chose to be .”
OMG As I already said: ” Indeed I strongly suspect that many comments here are directly from Zionist HG in Dublin, which accounts for a lack in any truth or reality. ”
@Tommy Whelan: “Actually we resisted independence and fought to defend a British and its empire”
Have you ANY evidence for this Zionist HQ rubbish? Have you misunderstood the Fenien invasion of Canada?
@Robert Hand: how about 1500 rebels took part in a rising that the people did not support in 1916 while 250000 Irish men defended the British empire in France . How about you look up the hundreds of battle honours the Irish where awarded for their service across the brit empire . You are clearly wrap up in this feel good version of poor little Ireland at the hands of the British that has being shoved down our throats for the last 100 yrs .
@Robert Hand: well said
@Craig Barry: faugh a ballagh https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faugh_A_Ballagh
@Tommy Whelan: You truly have a perverted version of our History. I suspect you would have us join NATO too!
Initially the Irish populous might have been wary of the Volunteers but by 1918, they won nearly every available seat in the democratic election, which is the only gauge possible of popular support. My tiny village Lusk had FORTY Volunteers out of the 97 from Fingal in the 1916 Rising. Previous to 1916 there were two companies of Volunteers. Before 1916 the once larger Redmondites company had disappeared.
My granduncle Sean ‘Rover’ McCann was at Ashbourne Easter Week 1916. He was murdered by British forces on 22/11/1920, the night after Bloody Sunday. So a patriot?
Uniquely I had a second granduncle, James, KIA in France in November 1914, one of the early casualties in the Cousins War due to end that Christmas!!! His motives for being in the British army in Aden was not inspired by love of Britain either.
@Robert Hand:
32 counties do not recognize Israel..
that is re assuring to 8500000 Israeli citizens
By the way more than 10000 times more Syrians have been killed in 6years than in 100 years iñ Palestine
Flag at half mast?
Philistines for Palestine, it has a nice ring to it in fairness. If they expended as much energy focusing on issues closer to home they might be able to justify their pay!!
Whoever wants to understand the Apartheid State of Israel and it’s barbaric treatment of the indigenous Palestinian people should check out B.D.S on line.
B.D.S – Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. A peaceful, non-violent protest movement similar to efforts made against Apartheid South Africa some years back.
Check it out. The majority of the civilized world are endorsing it’s aims…
@Peter Higgins:
The indigenous Palestinian people? What about the indigenous Jewish people. The Arab Jewish conflict in the middle east is a little more complex than that. I am no fan of Israels methods of self defence, but the Palestinian terrorists methods of murder are much worse.
You had better stop using all PCs and phones as most of the semiconductor companies have very strong links with Israel.
@Peter Higgins:
Nazis had their very own BDS too, you know that right?
This flag waving is a SF virtue signalling parody.
Stick to the tricolour, Leinster flag, or Dublin flag.
Or just take down the bloody pole.
insanity
Jaysus
What idiot came up with this idea.
@Dermot Keogh: Shinners.
@Mick Jordan: and there muslim brotherhood friends and gerge soros
100 years ago DeValera was in America seeking support for our right to self determination and the establishment of an Independent Irish State, the government should now recognise Palestine as a state, our history compels us to do so.
@Robby Fenian Martin:
They could have had a state in 1947
more muslims more problems
Naive idiots. Do they support the spending of millions in aid on rockets to be fired at civilians?
It’s not at all as simple as ‘hammas good, Israel bad’. Do they not remember when naive Americans gave millions of dollars to the ira and thought Bobby Sands was an Irish patriot?
Never knew they were as poor lol.
have your say