Saturday set for largest Palestine peace rally yet
A major demonstration in support of Palestine is scheduled for this Saturday, with organisers anticipating that it may be the biggest display of solidarity for the war-torn region to date.
The protest, spearheaded by The Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign (CPSC), is set to take place at 1pm at the City Library on Grand Parade. Demonstrations have been held for the past 6 Saturdays with organisers estimating that over 1,500 people attended the the most recent rally. A call for the boycott of products and services from Israel has also been called for by the CPSC. Dr Kathy Glavanis, a member of the group, spoke at a press conference earlier this week about the purpose of the event.
“The main messages of the rally are the demand for immediate ceasefire, sanctions on Israel for its breach of humanitarian law and its commitment of war crimes and the movement towards a political settlement.”
Since 7 October, the people of Cork have shown “an unprecedented response” and have demonstrated their solidarity with the Palestinian people. “Rallies, marches and vigils have sprung up from Ballincollig to Youghal,” she said.
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South-Central described the situation in Gaza as “brutal and horrifying” but said amidst the tragedy unfolding that it was “heartwarming” to witness the solidarity of the people of Cork and Ireland, and underlined the significance of people taking action. “I don’t think it should be underestimated the importance of each of us doing whatever we can,” he said.
“And I do believe that the fact that the Irish people are out on the streets has has forced the Gorvernment to do things that I think they would rather not have done, such as being one of the first states in Europe to call for a ceasefire.”
Izzeddeen Alkarajeh, the owner of Izz Cafe, said that the resolution to the ongoing crisis lies in recognising its root causes. He stressed the importance of lifting the blockade, allowing freedom of movement, and integrating Gaza into the global economy for long-term stability. He also highlighted the remarkable resilience of Gaza's 2.2 million inhabitants, and empahsised the urgent need for a sustainable solution to address the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Rola (Hamed) Abu Zeid-O’Neill, a UCC academic, who also attended the press conference, stressed that there is individual and collective responsibility to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine.
Mick Barry, the Socialist Party TD for Cork North-Central, said that a humanitarian pause will not alleviate the crisis and insisted that a ceasefire is the only way forward.
“Some people might think that if a pause is called that we might sit back and wait and see. But now is time to step forward and say if there’s a pause, it must be made permanent. We want a complete and total ceasefire with an end to the assault on Gaza,” he said. He also encouraged as many people as possible to attend the rally planned for Saturday. “There has been tremendous display of solidarity over the past 6 weeks. We are appealing to people to join us at the library at 1pm and make this a huge demonstration,” he added.