Crowds take to the streets of Cork in 18th weekly rally calling for ceasefire in Gaza

Up to 1,000 people attended the weekly Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign (CPSC) demonstration on Saturday, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

It was the 18th rally in the city centre organised by CPSC.

The main speaker was Dr Laurence Davis, a senior lecturer in government and politics at University College Cork.

“When we protest, we are not only addressing ourselves to those in power.

“We are also responding to the continuing call of the Palestinian people for a justice long denied,” he said, addressing the rally.

“We are expressing solidarity with, and giving hope to, those in a seemingly hopeless situation.

“We are, in short, practising democracy in the best and truest and most principled and inclusive sense of the word,” Dr Davis said.

The demonstrators, marching behind banners, included contingents representing various professions and social groups, including Teachers for Palestine, Parents Against Genocide, Irish Association of Social Workers, and Health Care Workers for Gaza.

Several political parties were also represented and carried banners, including the Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, People Before Profit-Solidarity, and the Workers’ Party.