Proud to have played a very small part in this big outcome💪
The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign has welcomed media reports today that Israel's genocide bond prospectus approval process has been moved to Luxembourg.
IPSC Chairperson Zoë Lawlor said:
"Coming after a year of campaigning by Palestine solidarity activists, today is a huge victory for the people of Ireland who stand resolutely in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
"The Central Bank of Ireland has been forced by to end its shameful complicity in genocide. It has been forced to stop enabling Israel selling its genocide-funding bonds – to stop acting as the lynchpin of Israel’s fundraising in the EU.
"For a year the Central Bank of Ireland and the Irish government stone-walled all calls to end the facilitation of bonds which directly funded the genocide in Gaza, the forced starvation of the Palestinian people in Gaza, the murder of over 62,000 people in Gaza, daily bombardment and forced displacement and the destruction of Gaza. Finally, this complicity in the funding of genocide has ended.
"People all over Ireland have won this victory for Palestine through marching and organising in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Councils from Dublin City to Kerry to Donegal demanded an end to the approval by the CBI of Israel Bonds. The ICTU, legal experts, opposition politicians, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Israel Bonds, civil society organisations and ordinary people in every town and village have called for the end of the shameful complicity of the CBI in the funding of genocide. We have been joined by amazing artists, musicians and writers in this campaign and very brilliant committed public representatives. From protests to complaints to parliamentary work, this is a huge victory for people power, and for the BDS Movement.
"The IPSC welcomes the end of the Central Bank’s shameful role in approving Israel Bonds. We believe that the CBI should not have continued to enable Isarel to fundraise for genocide by transferring the prospectus to another competent authority. We ask that the Government confirm that Ireland will have absolutely no further involvement with Israel genocide-funding bonds. Specifically we ask the Government to clarify if Ireland remains the “home member state” for Israel Bonds under the transfer arranged by the Central Bank. And we reiterate the call from the Joint Committee's that the Irish government demand legislative change at EU to end the sale of these bonds throughout Europe.
"Shamefully, however, many other areas of state complicity with the genocidal Apartheid state of Israel remain, and the IPSC calls for the Irish government to end the use of Shannon airport by the US military, stop the use of Irish airspace for transiting weapons to Israel, end the export of dual-use items, pass the Occupied Territories Bill in full, and join the Hague Group.
"We are also sure that Palestine solidarity activists in Luxembourg will now take up the baton to cut off funding for Israel's criminal genocide in Gaza - and we will offer them any support we can.
"End Israel’s impunity - Sanctions Now! Freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people!"
