BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN IRELAND TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINE

Bethlehem, 8 Jumadil Awwal 1436/27 February 2015 (MINA) – A Palestine solidarity group in Ireland on Wednesday launched   billboard campaign to urge the Irish government to support the recognition of Palestine.

Palestine solidarity group Sadaka said that former Irish minister for foreign affairs Micheál Martin, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, and PA ambassador to Ireland Ahmed Abdelrazek urged the Irish government to recognize Palestine based on the two state parameters as part of the campaign.

John Douglas, President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said: “The Dáil and Seanad have given the Government a clear mandate to recognize the state of Palestine”, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“Ireland’s stated policy is that it supports a two state solution in Palestine and Israel. Ireland already recognizes Israel – we should now recognize the State of Palestine.”

Chair of Sadaka Marie Crawley said recognition of Palestine would put pressure on Israel to contribute constructively to the peace process.

“Israel, as an occupying power, continues to hold a veto over Palestinian statehood. No country should deny another nation its right to statehood. And, as the maps on these billboards powerfully demonstrate, time is running out for the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

The adverts will appear on billboards, buses, bus shelters and train stations in Dublin.

In December 2014, Irish lawmakers urged their government to recognize Palestine as a state in a symbolic motion that sailed through parliament unopposed.

The non-binding motion agreed by lawmakers in Dublin called on the government to “officially recognize the State of Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital, as established in UN resolutions”. (T/P010/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)