Pro-Palestine activist group occupy Department of Transport offices

Kenneth Fox

A pro-Palestine activist group have taken over the Department of Transport offices in Dublin city centre.

The group named Dublin for Gaza are calling for the department along with the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan to stop any transportation of weapons to Israel heading through Shannon Airport.

The protestors held up banners outside the building saying 'No weapons to Israel' and 'Keep Shannon genocide free' before they entered the building itself and occupied it.

On X, the group said: "Shannon Airport is used as a stopover for the US military, using civilian airlines to transport US troops and weapons.

"The airlines chartered by the US military must receive an exemption from the Minister of Transport allowing them to transport weapons through our airports.

"According to the government's figures, over 500 such exemptions have been made by the department this year so far."

They said they are now calling on Minister Ryan to stop granting exemptions to Israel and ensure airports are not used to transport weapons to Israel.

1/7 📢 Activists Occupy Dept of Transport 🇵🇸

This morning protesters are occupying the Department of Transport Offices in Dublin calling on Minister Ryan to stand with the Palestinian people by halting any transportation of weapons bound for Israel through Shannon Airport. pic.twitter.com/I4vRdltiMp

— Dublin Gaza (@Dublin4Gaza) November 6, 2023

It comes as Gaza lost communications in its third total outage of the Israel-Hamas war, while Israel’s military said it encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.

“Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group ruling the enclave.

Israeli media reported troops were expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours.

Strong explosions were seen in northern Gaza after nightfall.

The “collapse in connectivity” across Gaza, reported by internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and confirmed by Palestinian telecom company Paltel, made it even more complicated to convey details.