RAMALLAH, Saturday, June 1, 2024 (WAFA) – The recent wave of recognitions of Palestinian statehood is the beginning of the way towards a truly free and independent Palestinian state, Sinn Féin chairperson Declan Kearney stated on Friday.
Speaking in an interview with Palestine TV, Kearney said that other states would follow the example of Ireland, Norway and Spain by recognizing the State of Palestine. This step would be followed by concerted efforts by Irish and European political parties aimed at supporting the Palestinian people’s rights and reaching an immediate and unconditional ceasefire conducive to the establishment of a free and independent Palestinian state.
In parallel, he added, steps would be taken to impose economic, political, diplomatic and security sanctions on the Israeli government.
He expressed his belief that recognition of the Palestinian state would bring the war to a halt while pointing out that Sinn Féin seeks to implement nonviolent tools by exerting political pressure on all the parties responsible for sustaining the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.
Pointing to the similarities between the Irish and Palestinian peoples in suffering under the yoke of colonialism and struggling to regain their national rights, Kearney said that the Irish people were aware that the Balfour Declaration evolved into a Zionist enterprise that condemned Palestinians to oppression and starvation, just like what happened to the Irish people.
He added that all the forms of killing and destruction inflicted by Israel on Gaza together with Israel’s persistent violation of international law and conventions were unacceptable, as he stressed the need for reaching an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and allowing unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the war-torn Strip.
He said that he remains convinced that the sovereignty over the crossings should be purely Palestinian and that the Palestinian decision should be independent.
Commenting on the Israeli offensive on Rafah, he said that this offensive sums up the Israeli policy of going to unprecedented lengths in violating human rights, as he decried the ongoing support of some Western institutions to Israel in terms of military aid and called them to immediately halt such assistance and engage in the efforts aimed at securing a complete ceasefire.
He slammed Western governments for applying a double standard concerning Israel.
He added that the recent Israeli offensive on Rafah requires the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to impose sanctions on Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu to discourage him from proceeding with taking measures preventing reaching a ceasefire.
Regarding the targeting by Israel of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Kearney said that Israeli statements regarding the UNRWA were nothing more than unacceptable claims emanating from Israel’s attempts to criminalize and dehumanize all UN institutions that try to redress the injustices committed against the Palestinian people to continue its genocide of Palestinians.
K.F.
