
Call at Palestinian rally in Sligo for Israel to be held to account
Yasser and Imad Emad lawabneh, spoke on behalf of the Palestinian community living in Sligo at the event organised by the Sligo Palestine Solidarity Committee. Amongst the participants were elected representatives led by the Mayor of Sligo, Cllr Gino O'Boyle alongside Councillor Declan Bree.
Also in attendance were activists from Craftivism for Palestine, who unfurled a 40 metre blanket, stitched by a collective of women from all 32 counties of Ireland.
Each of the 2,300 hand-crocheted square blanket represents ten children killed in Gaza. Speaking to The Sligo Champion after the event, local spokesperson Chris MacManus said: 'Irish people see clearly what is happening - Gaza is being reduced to rubble, and its people starved as Israel purposely denies access to food, aid and electricity.
"This out-of-control Israeli regime continues at will, as many Western governments and the EU churn out mealy-mouthed platitudes with little actual sanction. For many of us, that is horrendous and unjustifiable. This failure to hold Israel to account, effectively green lights Benjamin Netanyahu to continue implementing genocide.
' The international community has to step up and ensure that there are meaningful sanctions for Israel's war crimes, at both national and international level. Here at home, our Government must pass a comprehensive Occupied Territories Bill without further delay and adopt all other possible sanctions against Israel.'
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RTÉ News
5 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Netanyahu says he will update military on Gaza war plans
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will update Israel's Gaza war plan, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the fate of hostages still held in the Palestinian territory. Addressing a cabinet meeting with the war into its 22nd month, the Israeli leader told ministers that later in the week he would instruct the military on how "to achieve the three war objectives we have set". Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 and the Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted officials in Mr Netanyahu's office saying that the "updated strategy" would be to re-occupy all of Gaza, including areas in Gaza City where the military believes hostages are being held. The cabinet would meet on Tuesday to endorse the plan, the reports said. There was no immediate official confirmation. However, the Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry denounced what it called a "leaked" plan and urged the international community to intervene to quash any new military occupation. Mr Netanyahu is facing mounting domestic and international pressure to bring the remaining hostages in Gaza home and allow much more aid into the starving territory. Israel - backed by the United States and Panama - is preparing to convene a UN Security Council meeting to highlight the fate of the hostages. Mr Netanyahu reiterated yesterday that Israel's three war goals remained "the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel". His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince the Israeli prime minister to end the war. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said ahead of the UN meeting that "the world must put an end to the phenomenon of kidnapping civilians". "It must be front and centre on the world stage," he added/ Of the 251 hostages abducted during Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The UN session was called after Palestinian militant groups last week published three videos showing hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David appearing weak and emaciated, causing shock in Israel. Mr Netanyahu said he had asked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide food and medical treatment to the Israeli captives. Hamas's armed wing said it was willing to allow access to the hostages in exchange for opening aid corridors into all of Gaza, where UN-mandated experts have warned famine is unfolding. Mr Netanyahu's government has faced repeated accusations by relatives of hostages and other critics that it has not done enough to rescue the captives. "Netanyahu is leading Israel and the hostages to ruin," said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group. It said: "For 22 months, the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back. "The truth must be said: expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages, who are already in immediate mortal danger." Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a truce. Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials including former heads of intelligence agencies have urged Mr Trump to pressure their own government to end the war. "It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel," the former officials wrote in an open letter shared with the media yesterday. The war "is leading the state of Israel to lose its security and identity", said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service, in a video released to accompany the letter. 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He went to bring flour for his family," she said, adding "the flour is stained with blood. We don't want the flour anymore. Enough." UN rights chief Volker Turk said "the images of people starving in Gaza are heart-rending and intolerable". "That we have reached this stage is an affront to our collective humanity," he added. He called on Israel to urgently allow aid into the territory, adding that denying it "may amount to a war crime". On Sunday, President Michael D Higgins called on the United Nations Security Council to do more for the people of Gaza. "I cannot really stand in a public venue and give a public speech and speak about our language when I see such incredible, incredible destruction of an entire people taking place on our television screens every evening," he said at the opening of an event at the weekend. He said it was "outrageous" that there were 6,000 trucks with enough food for three months waiting to get in to Gaza and that they are being blocked. President Higgins also condemned footage released by Hamas of two emaciated Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza.


Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Media's role in fighting corruption must be defended
This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995. Although commended for introducing statutory disclosure obligations for designated public office holders, including politicians, and the establishment of Sipo's predecessor, its significance runs deeper. The act ended a 79-year hiatus in Ireland's anti-corruption legislation. From the foundation of the Irish Free State, the legislation governing corruption in Ireland was housed in the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 1916. That legislation remained unamended on the Irish statute book until 1995, when modest revisions were introduced under the Ethics in Public Office Act. That act was introduced partly as a response to political indiscretions exposed in a number of scandals that gripped Ireland during the 1990s, including the Greencore affair, Telecom Éireann's site purchase, and the Beef Tribunal. But behind that legislative response lay another powerful force — the media. From the 1970s onwards, investigative journalism in Ireland began to develop, which led — among other things — to the exposure during the 1990s of conflicts of interest and ethical lapses among public officials. The media reports unearthed a culture of impunity and lack of oversight, and were significant in embedding corruption in the public discourse. The Greencore affair, for example, which arose out of the privatisation of Súicre Éireann, revealed weaknesses in the anti-corruption legislative architecture that had never been focused on before, namely conflicts between public duties and private interests. It centred on a small number of executives who bought a 49% stake in a subsidiary of the company for £3.2m and sold it back to the State a year later for £9.5m, prompting concerns over corporate governance and abuse of trust. Although statutory investigations found breaches of company law and corrupt practices by some of those involved, no criminal prosecutions followed. Then there was Telecom Éireann, a semi-state company, which found itself the subject of much media attention in 1991, arising from irregularities surrounding its purchase of a piece of land for use as its headquarters. The Beef Tribunal, established in 1991, on foot of an ITV World in Action programme, would go on to reveal questionable and uncomfortably close connections between big business interests and Irish political interests. These revelations helped shift public sentiment, fostering a climate more receptive to investigative journalism and expanding the public understanding of corruption. Before then, corruption was regarded as an overt form of bribery. This understanding was reflected in the legislation criminalising corruption, which dated back to 1889. Events throughout the 1990s showed that corrupt behaviour could constitute more clandestine activities where private interests and public duties collided, and an awareness of the connection between conflicts of interest and corruption. This growing public awareness, aided by the media, created the necessary political pressure for reform. The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 was the first enacted legislative response. However, it was not the first attempt to introduce accountability into Irish public life. Four years previously, Labour TD Brendan Howlin initiated the Ethics in Government and Public Office Bill 1991 as a private members' bill. Although the bill was defeated, its principles were incorporated into the 1995 act. The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 sparked a series of incremental reforms over the next 15 years, including the introduction of freedom of information laws, regulation of political donations, and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Acts 2001 and 2010. Running in tandem with these legislative developments was persistent media scrutiny, reporting on events that formed the subject matter of various tribunals throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The media played a pivotal role in the establishment of the tribunals. However, its influence extended beyond this initial contribution, in that it was instrumental in informing the public about the proceedings and findings of the tribunals. The particular significance of the Moriarty, Planning, and Morris tribunals is that, for the first time, findings of corruption were made against individuals who were the subject of the investigations. The momentum for change, driven by media vigilance and Ireland's commitments under international and European instruments such as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery, ultimately culminated in the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018. The 2018 Act repealed Ireland's outdated corruption laws and replaced them with a unified modern framework. It introduced offences of active and passive corruption, trading in influence, knowingly giving gifts or advantages to facilitate the commission of a corruption offence, intimidation, and substantially increased penalties for corruption offences. The legislative inertia that had persisted for most of the 20th century eventually gave way to a resurgence of reform, driven in no small way by the media's persistent focus on corruption. As Mr Justice Humphreys recently observed, the media plays a vital role in shaping public discourse, a role that mirrors Percy Bysshe Shelley's famous description of poets as "the unacknowledged legislators of the world". This is not to suggest that the media alone dictates policy and legislation; rather, media coverage can influence legislators' behaviour, as Ireland's experience with corruption legislation has shown. Irish legislation is a product of the Oireachtas, which essentially comprises directly elected politicians. Dependent on public support, politicians risk losing political power if they ignore public opinion. Media reporting and commentary often guide public opinion, which in turn can influence the legislative agenda. The evolution of Ireland's anti-corruption laws is a testament to the enduring importance of the Fourth Estate. Ireland's path towards transparency and reform may not have been so meaningful without it. In a world facing growing threats of free-speech intimidation, protecting an independent Fourth Estate capable of speaking truth to power is more important than ever. Gail Nohilly is a barrister and knowledge lawyer and recently completed her PhD at the University of Limerick, tracking the evolution of Ireland's corruption legislation and the role of the media.


Sunday World
4 hours ago
- Sunday World
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