Council buildings set for Palestinian colours light-up

DERRY City & Strabane District Council buildings will be lit in Palestinian colours over St Patrick’s Day weekend, following an agreement at the local authority last week.

A proposal was put forward by People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin at a Full Council Meeting on Wednesday (February 28).

Additionally, councillors were urged to participate in the call to “join the mobilisation” to the US Consulate on Saturday, March 16, to highlight the “complicity of Joe Biden’s Administration with Israeli Apartheid”.

Cllr Harkin said the number of people in Gaza facing starvation was “harrowing”, and that the world was “crying out for an end to the slaughter”.

“I think billions of people now share that anger, grief, and despair,” he said. “It’s very frustrating to hear Joe Biden casually tell us there might be a ceasefire this weekend as he eats an ice cream, while people continue to die in Gaza.”

Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson said “all eyes are on Ireland” during St Patrick’s Day, which gives Irish people a platform to “speak up against the genocide in Palestine”.

“Any events organised in solidarity with Palestine are welcome,” Cllr Jackson added. “This shouldn’t be an opportunity to use this plight for political point-scoring, and events like this should be welcome to everybody.

“Everybody should be encouraged to attend and use their voice to speak up.”

SDLP councillor Catherine McDaid agreed that councillors needed to be doing all they could in solidarity with Palestine.

“We need to do what we can and everyone’s welcome to these events,” Cllr McDaid said. “The more feet on the street and the louder we can shout about this, the more impact it hopefully will have.”

or Palestinian colours light-up