Like so many of you, I’ve been sick to my stomach watching how things are unfolding in Gaza and for the rest of Palestine. I’ve seen so many images flash by on social media that tell us that this is the first genocide that we’re watching real time on our phones, and it feels so powerless to watch the countdown of how many hours of water, internet and electricity different towns and hospitals have left.
I was going to write a piece this week on exhaustion, sobriety and anxiety, but I’ll save that for later in the week - I also give my full permission for you to skip that one if you can’t absorb additional heaviness. There’s so much to take in lately and it’s very hard to know what to do or how to help.
There’s so much bias, propaganda and misinformation being spread around, some/lots by mainstream media, but I find it very hard to grasp that there’s an infograph to back up whatever you believe in, creating microaggressions between friends online and totally distracting from the big picture; the lives of millions of Palestinian people are at risk of being wiped out.
The turnout for the global marches over the weekend was huge. 20,000 people showed their support for Palestine in Dublin, begging that Israel’s attacks and invasion of Gaza would be condemned and prevented by world leaders. It feels like we are hours away from total devastation.
According to UNICEF:
Before this renewed violence, 1 million children were in need of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – almost half the child population. In the Gaza Strip, more than 816,000 children were identified in need of mental health and psychosocial support following six rounds of armed conflict since 2008 and daily protection issues.
The electricity cuts are affecting health services, in particular hospitals that now rely on backup generators. Some hospitals have enough fuel to last only four days. All health facilities struggle to provide adequate medical care without electricity, power medical equipment, and refrigeration for medicines. Additionally, the water supply to the Gaza Strip has been cut, affecting over 610,000 people, more than half of them children, and causing a severe shortage of drinkable water. The lack of safe water and the spread/overflow of wastewater can potentially lead to water-related diseases, also affecting the physical well-being of women and children.
The documented tragedies are too much to bear, the loss of life already so impossible to comprehend, but we also can’t just scroll idly by.
I have gathered some donation links that will use all funds to help people on the ground in Palestine, and below that there is a draft of an email that you can send to Irish leaders of political parties.
I’ll be back to business as usual later in the week.
Donation links
Actionaid Gaza Crisis Appeal
Oxfam Gaza Crisis Appeal
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
UNICEF Gaza Crisis Emergency Appeal
UNRWA Gaza Emergency
Draft Email
Party Leader email addresses: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie, holly.cairns@oireachtas.ie, ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie,
SUBJECT: Urgent Request to Issue a Call for Sanctions against Israel
[PARTY LEADER NAME], A Chara,
I am writing to request that you urgently issue a strong statement on Israel's breaches of international law, in particular, a call for sanctions until Israel stops breaching international law.
The public statements from Israeli officials are deeply concerning, and the follow up actions are having a catastrophic impact on innocent Palestinian civilians. In particular:
Senior ministers referring to Palestinians as animals and other moves to dehumanise the population.
The cutting off of water, humanitarian aid and electricity.
The Israeli Prime Minister saying he will turn Gaza into a 'deserted island'.
The official Israeli state position being one of vengeance and revenge.
History teaches us that genocide begins with rhetoric. In this case the rhetoric has already moved to action. Ireland must use every measure possible to immediately try and stop Israel from carrying out continued breaches of international law.
I am urging you to represent Ireland's position as a neutral country and immediately issue the strongest possible statement condemning the ongoing breaches of international law. I am sure you are aware of the various breaches, which I have copied below.
We are beginning to see condemnation from other partners across Europe such as the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt's statement, as well as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell's statement. Ireland should be using every diplomatic channel possible to urge other countries and institutions to follow suit in condemning Israel's behaviour. As a small nation it is unlikely your statement alone will have much of an effect, therefore you must focus on leveraging our relationships with other diplomatic channels, in particular the US State Dept and other US diplomatic channels and the European Commission.
Finally, I urge you to pursue a strategy of sanctions and genuine actions. In your statement, it is critically important that you emphasise Israel should and will be subject to sanctions, should they continue to breach international law; as has rightly been done with financial, trade and diplomatic sanctions against Russia. We lose all credibility as a State if we are not consistent in this. We must use all tools at our disposal and your statement should include a proposed list of genuine, forceful and severe sanctions.
Le gach dea-ghuí,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
Israel's Ongoing Breaches of International Law:
1. Collective Punishment: The Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 33, clearly states: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.
Israel's actions in cutting off essential supplies such as electricity, water, and food are not directly tied to military necessities but are instead aimed at punishing the civilian population for actions carried out by armed groups; this constitutes collective punishment.
2. Treatment of Civilians and Civilian Objects: According to Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, Article 51, which deals with protection of the civilian population:
"The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack."
"Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited."
Deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and undertaking operations that disproportionately affect civilians is a violation of this.
3. Humanitarian Access: The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols emphasise the obligation of parties in a conflict to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.
By not allowing humanitarian access to Gaza, Israel is in violation of this aspect of international humanitarian law, especially as these actions exacerbate the suffering of the civilian population.
4. Proportionality in Attack: Protocol I, Article 51(5)(b) states that an attack becomes unlawful when it "may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated."
As the bombings and other military operations are resulting in a disproportionately high number of civilian casualties compared to the direct military advantage gained, they violate the principle of proportionality.
5. Special Protection of Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the Civilian Population: Protocol I, Article 54(2) prohibits attacking, destroying, removing, or rendering useless "objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population," including drinking water installations and supplies.
Cutting off water and other essential supplies is in direct violation of this provision.