Palestinian ambassador backs Sally Rooney over Palestine Action comments

By Cate McCurry, PA

Irish author Sally Rooney is using her voice to “call out human rights violations”, the Palestinian ambassador in Ireland said, after the novelist said she will continue to support and fund Palestine Action.

The award-winning author said she will donate her earnings from her books and BBC adaptations to support the group, which was recently proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

The Co Mayo native and author of Normal People, said that if that “makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it”.

Writing in The Irish Times over the weekend, Ms Rooney said she will use the proceeds of her work and her public platform to continue her support for Palestine Action and “direct action against genocide in whatever way I can”.

Palestine Action was recently proscribed under terrorism legislation in the UK, but not under Irish law.

Ms Rooney currently lives in the west of Ireland.

The BBC has said that Ms Rooney is not and never has been BBC staff, adding that what novelists say and do with money previously received is a matter for them.

Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the ambassador of the state of Palestine in Ireland, said on Monday: “Sally Rooney is using her voice to call out international law and human rights violations in Palestine.

“I hope these calls result in practical actions that will stop the horrors we’re witnessing carried out by Israel in Palestine; to stop the genocide and forced displacement and end the Israeli occupation.”

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson says: “Matters relating to proscribed organisations are for the relevant authorities.”

The BBC said it is not currently working with Ms Rooney on any upcoming projects.

It comes as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper labelled Palestine Action more than “a regular protest group”.

She said protest and free speech remain “an important part of our democracy” which will “always be protected”, but argued Palestine Action has carried out “an escalating campaign”.

Writing in The Observer, she said: “Some may think it is a regular protest group known for occasional stunts.

“But that is not the extent of its past activities.”

Ms Cooper said counterterrorism intelligence showed the organisation passed the tests to be proscribed under the 2000 Terrorism Act with “disturbing information” about future attacks.