'Israel gets away with murder, must answer for 75 years of crimes in Palestine'

By Zuhal Demirci

LONDON (AA) - Israel should no longer be able to “get away with murder” and must be held accountable for the crimes it has committed over the past 75 years, not just the last two weeks, according to Irish parliamentarian Gino Kenny.

“Israel needs to be answerable for the crimes that they committed, and not only in the last two weeks, for the last 75 years. They have to face accountability because Israelis literally get away with murder,” the Irish politician known for his pro-Palestine views said in an interview with Anadolu Agency.

He hailed Ireland’s stance on the Palestine issue, which recently passed a resolution making it the first EU country to define Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories as “de facto annexation.”

“Now, we all know that this has gone on for decades, annexation and occupation. So, it’s welcomed that the government has stated that this is a policy of Israel,” Kenny said.

He stressed that there is immense support for Palestinians and their right to self-determination in Ireland.

“Obviously, the Palestinian issue has always been very close to the heart to most our people; we understand what they’re going through when we, on a daily and a weekly basis, we see kind of the brutality,” the lawmaker said.

“Palestinians have every right to resist the occupation. This is nothing new.”

Calling for more European countries to follow Ireland’s example, he slammed the EU for its silence over Israel’s brutality against Palestinians, in contrast to the furor raised by the bloc over the Ryanair incident involving Belarus.

“[...] The European Union is literally [a group of] toothless and spineless cowards,” he said.

Kenny also outlined the steps he believes the international community should take over the aggression carried out by the “apartheid state” of Israel, pointing to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement as a particularly effective tool.

He emphasized the need for immediate action against Israel, saying that the time for words has passed and “those who do not act will be complicit in the occupation.”

At least 288 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s recent attacks on the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including 69 children and 40 women, with more than 8,900 others injured, according to official Palestinian figures.

An Egyptian-brokered truce that took effect in the early hours of May 21 ended Israel’s 11-day aerial onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has left behind a trail of death and destruction in the besieged Palestinian territory.