An Irish flag was raised in an area of Palestine on Thursday in response to an Irish Government vote to declare Israel's actions as "unlawful de facto annexation" of Palestinian territory.
The Irish Government passed the Sinn Féin motion on Wednesday and condemned the "ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the occupied Palestinian territory. Ireland became the first EU member state to label Israeli action in Palestine as de facto annexation by passing the motion.
The motion, which passed unanimously, drew heavy criticism from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs but earned enormous praise in Palestine.
On Thursday, an Irish flag was raised above Ramallah City Hall in the West Bank while Ireland's national anthem 'Amhrán na bhFiann' played in the background as a sign of appreciation for the solidarity shown by Irish people during the most recent outbreak of conflict between Palestine and Israel.
Frances Black - an Irish singer and independent senator - said on Twitter that she became emotional while watching a video of the tricolor being raised in Ramallah.
"This happened in Ramallah today, a wonderful Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 km north of Jerusalem. I cried watching this. Ireland says thank you," Black wrote.
This happened in Ramallah today, a wonderful Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 km north of Jerusalem. I cried watching this 🥲 Ireland 🇮🇪 says thank you #Ramallah 🇵🇸🇵🇸🙏🙏 #Palestine pic.twitter.com/uBRShtBWAu
— Frances Black (@frances_black) May 27, 2021
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the other hand, condemned the Irish Government motion in a series of tweets on Wednesday night.
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lior Haiat said that Israel "outright rejects Ireland's outrageous and baseless position regarding Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria" in a tweet on Wednesday.
"This position reflects a blatantly one-sided and simplistic policy and follows the unacceptable anti-Israel statements that were heard in Ireland at a time when the citizens of Israel were being subject to terror attacks by the more than 4,000 rockets that were launched from the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terrorist organization," Haiat continued.
1/3 Israel outright rejects Ireland's outrageous and baseless position regarding Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
This position reflects a blatantly one-sided and simplistic policy... pic.twitter.com/6HQflk8pJ1
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) May 26, 2021
While the Irish Government passed the Sinn Féin motion on Wednesday, it also voted against a People Before Profit motion calling for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador and the introduction of economic sanctions against Israel. The amendment was defeated by 86 votes to 46 with one abstention.
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