Late in 2014 both Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann unanimously passed a motion calling on the Irish Government ‘to officially recognise the State of Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital’. Despite a vigorous campaign by Sadaka, supported by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Government and in particular the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, refused to implement the unanimous votes of both house of the Oireachtas thereby completely ignoring the will of the people. You can find out more from this one-page Sadaka Briefing, or from our website here.
Palestine - General Election Agenda 2016
You can use our simple interactive map or the drop-down list below to see whether the successful candidates (now TD's) endorsed the 'Sadaka Pledge for Palestine'
The Sadaka Pledge for Palestine
We call on the Irish Government to use all institutional mechanisms at its disposal, at both domestic and EU level, to implement the following policies:
- Recognition of a Palestinian state: Ireland should formally recognise the State of Palestine (implementing the Seanad and Dáil motions unanimously passed in 2014);
- Gaza: Ireland should vigorously campaign for an end to the blockade of Gaza;
- Colonies/Settlements: Ireland should seek an EU ban on trade and investment with Israeli colonies/settlements, the construction of which has involved the commission of war crimes by Israel on a massive scale;
- Arms Trade: Ireland should seek to suspend military export licenses to Israel and suspend Department of Defence public procurement from Israeli arms companies.
- Palestinian Children: Ireland should seek to ensure that Israel implement its obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
We ask that all political parties and independent TD's pledge themselves to these achievable policy demands.
Sadaka’s primary goal is the same as that of the Palestinian people - to see an end to the illegal Israeli Occupation and Colonisation of Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli policies during the 23 years since The Oslo Accord (1993) demonstrate that a Palestinian state will never be established unless the international community plays an active and leading role in bringing about an end to the Israeli Occupation.
 Recognise Palestine Now |
 End the Blockade of Gaza |
The situation in Palestine/Israel today is a consequence of Israeli armed aggression in 1967. The Palestinian people have been expelled from their lands (creating a refugee population of 6 million) and those that remain in the Occupied Territories of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem live in a brutal military occupation where a shoot-to-kill policy, detention without trial (internment), torture, home demolitions, child arrest, destruction of agricultural land and the theft of swathes of Palestinian land on which to construct homes for illegal Israeli settlers are everyday occurrences. This will not change without sanction from the international community. You can find out more from this one-page Sadaka Briefing, or from our website here. |
 Ban trade with Israeli Colonies a.k.a. Settlements |
Colonisation, that is, the transfer by an occupying power of its own citizens into the territory it is occupying, is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Israel’s 50-year project of settling its own citizens in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has involved the commission of war crimes on a massive scale. Yet, we openly and knowingly import and trade in goods produced in these settlements. |
 Suspend the Arms Trade with Israel |
There are many links between the Ireland and Israel in terms of weapons and military supplies. Irish companies have exported €6.42 million worth of military and dual use components to Israel in the last five years. |
 Protect Palestinian Children |
Over 1,800 children have been killed across the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2000 and since 1967, Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory have been living under Israeli military law and prosecuted in military courts. Around 500-700 Palestinian children are arrested, detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system each year.
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