Pro-Palestine groups picket Cork County Hall

PRO-PALESTINE groups from across Cork county protested outside County Hall yesterday afternoon, highlighting what they called the county council’s failure to act on a motion passed to declare the county an apartheid-free zone.

At the January meeting of Cork County Council, a motion on the Palestinian occupied territories, brought forward by Fine Gael councillor Sinéad Sheppard, was passed unanimously.

The motion stated that until Israel complied “with international law and universal principles of human rights, Cork County Council declares its support for the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) campaign and agrees not to purchase goods or services produced or provided in whole or in part as is practicable by Israeli companies or companies that support the Israeli state”.

“Cork County Council declares the county of Cork to be an apartheid-free zone, a space of proactive solidary with the Palestinian people.”

Around 50 members from Ballincollig, Cobh, Fermoy, Kinsale, Mallow, Midleton, and Youghal Palestine solidarity groups gathered to demonstrate outside County Hall yesterday afternoon.

Claim

They claimed that the council has failed to act on any of the motion’s commitments, and further alleged that the passing of the motion was not minuted at the January meeting.

Dermot Barry of the Fermoy Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said it needed to be established why a motion passed unanimously by councillors was not minuted.

“What are the councillors doing to ensure that democracy is being upheld?” he added.

A council spokesperson said the local authority was not aware any of its contracts, products or services were “directly sourced from Israel”.

“We have no record of Israel referenced in any of the supplier details held on our systems,” they said.

Cork County Council did not respond yesterday evening when asked whether or not the January motion on Palestine had been minuted.