The Irish Government could be "complicit" in the genocide that the Israeli government is carrying out against the Palestinian people in Gaza, the SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference (BDC) in Galway was told today. Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, warned that states had a legal obligation under the Genocide Convention to act with more than just words to stop the "unspeakable carnage" in Gaza.He said that the prospect of Israeli weapons travelling through ports and airports in Ireland could embroil the Irish Government and ministers in legal cases targeting those who had been complicit in what Israeli genocide scholar, Raz Segal, has described as a "textbook case of genocide." "While Ireland has rhetorically called for a ceasefire," Barghouti said, "it has practically failed to take all the necessary measures required by the Genocide Convention to prevent genocide."Furthermore, Ireland may be culpable for aiding and abetting genocide, if it is proven that it is selling weapons or weapon parts to Israel as an end-user, or if it is allowing third-state weapon shipments to Israel through its ports and airports."Barghouti also called for the Irish government to stop obstructing the Occupied Territories Bill and the Pensions Fund Divestment Bill, which would mandate the banning of products of companies operating illegally in the Occupied Territories and withdrawing Irish state investments from them. "In this time of genocide, ending complicity in it is the most profound ethical obligation everyone has," Barghouti continued. "Since oppression is the root cause of violence, those of us who sincerely care about ending all violence must act to end oppression."Barghouti's address followed motions at SIPTU's conference in Galway endorsing the BDS movement, calling on the Government to formally recognise the state of Palestine and for the passage of the Occupied Territories Bill. The conference also endorsed the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. SIPTU is supporting this weekend's National Demonstration for Palestine, which takes place from 1pm on Saturday, 18th November, at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.
Irish Government may be "complicit in genocide," Palestinian leader says
