Orla Murphy

The Nelson Mandela Foundation extends support to the South African legal team as they appear before the International Court of Justice today. Wishing them strength and success in their pursuit of truth, justice and peace. #CeasefireNow

South Africa just began its submissions at the International Court of Justice. Whatever ultimately happens in this proceeding, this is a profound moment. History will forever look kindly on South Africa’s people for this noble and heroic deed. #freepalestine #icj #SouthAfrica

This was a moving submission before the International Court of Justice by the Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC advising South Africa. “Look in the mirror and ask where was I when Gaza was going through a genocide? South Africa is here…before this court in the peace palace”

REMINDER: the public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case #SouthAfrica v. #Israel will open tomorrow, Thursday 11 January 2024, at 10 a.m. (The Hague). Watch it live on @UNWebTV at webtv.un.org/en/asset/k11/k…

Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian theguardian.com/world/2024/jan…

A very amusing find in the library recently! While checking stock, one of our Library Assistants found this note. We managed to track down Brendan, who is now a Professor of Mathematics at @MTU_ie. He has fond memories of cleaning books for £40 a week in the summer of 1983!

#Israel's Smotrich, Ben Gvir, and yes, #Netanyahu and the vast majority of his coalition government have forcibly transferred #Palestinians within the West Bank and #Gaza. As I told the #UNSC last week, they intend to deport them on maas, unless stopped. twitter.com/i/status/17418…

What will be left of Gaza when the war ends? ft.com/content/fa93e5…

"Once again, "transfer" is in the air - the idea of helping resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict by transferring or expelling some or all of the Arabs from Palestine" An important @guardian piece from 2002 by Israeli historian Benny Morris reminding us that ethnic cleansing was always lay at the heart of the Zionist project, or a Morris puts it, "The idea of transfer is as old as modern Zionism... And driving it was an iron logic: There could be no viable Jewish state in all or part of Palestine unless there was a mass displacement of Arab inhabitants." theguardian.com/world/2002/oct…

Open calls for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians of Gaza are becoming ever more frequent in Israel. The Palestinians have been reduced to subhumans, to be shot, starved, dispossessed, subjugated, tortured, bombed, abused and expelled with barely a shrug.

Reposted- @JakeWSimons inverts the truth and  ignores history and reality here. Three key facts are completely ommitted: 1. The PLO/Palestinian Authority recognised Israel in 1990 and has been committed to a Two State Solution since then, but the ruling Likud Party, in power for most of the last 30 years, opposes it tooth and nail - clause one of their Founding Charter (below) explicitly opposes any Palestinian Sovereignty "between the Sea and the Jordan." 2. The Israeli Government has illegally settled 500,000 Israelis on Occupied Palestinian land in opposition to 131 UN resolutions, in an attempt to make a Two State Solution impossible. The occupation and dispossession had hugely accelerated in recent months. 3.The violent anti-Arab racism espoused by Netanyahu, Finance Minister Smotrich, Security Minister Ben-Gvir (both settlers) &  Health Minister Deri (convicted of tax fraud & bribes) has never for a minute countenanced 5.2m subjugated Palestinians having the right to statehood. They are all explicit about  giving the Palestinians only the choice of continued serfdom or expulsion.

Israel working to expel civilian population of Gaza, UN expert warns | OHCHR ohchr.org/en/press-relea…

This is what happened at the Nakba in 1948. Its exactly the same playbook. First the Israelis drove out the Palestinians with atrocities & mass murder. Then they demolished the villages & built settlements over the ruins. Then they denied the Palestinians had ever been there or that they ever existed.

Without sufficient safe water, food and sanitation, child deaths due to disease could surpass those already killed in bombardments. To protect children in Gaza, UNICEF is calling for an immediate and long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire.

Mary Robinson gives qualified welcome to weak #UNSC Resolution on #Gaza, but warns implementation is what really matters to saving lives. “Agreement on this weak and overdue UN Security Council Resolution is better than another US veto. But the test of the resolution’s success will be how many lives are saved. The people of Gaza are facing starvation: they need food, not words. Neither Hamas nor Israel have complied with the previous resolution agreed last month. If the Security Council is to be credible, its members must push harder for implementation of its decisions. The shocking reality on the ground in Gaza demands the rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale, not haggling over a monitoring mechanism. I regret that the Security Council has not called for an immediate ceasefire. That is out of touch with world opinion, as expressed by the General Assembly last week. And distributing aid at the scale needed will be impossible while total warfare continues. Calling for a sustainable cessation of hostilities means little unless UNSC members are serious about creating the conditions for it. That includes more decisive US influence on Israel to ensure it complies with the provisions of this and previous Security Council Resolutions, and countries who have influence over Hamas pushing for the remaining hostages to be released. The threat of another veto has hung over this protracted negotiation, as it has over discussions on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Permanent members of the Security Council who abuse their veto power for national advantage are living on borrowed time. The rest of the world will not tolerate this anachronism for ever, particularly when it leads to the kinds of dehumanising suffering we are seeing in Gaza. This horrific war has lasted too long; everyone’s priority must now be to save lives and build a sustainable and just peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike.” - Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland

Mary Robinson calls on @POTUS to support demands for a ceasefire in #Gaza and allow #UNSC resolution to be passed. President Biden’s international leadership is critical to stopping the killing. #CeasefireNow

Mary Robinson warns US increasingly isolated over support for #Israel's assault on #Gaza, ahead of today's @UN Security Council vote on humanitarian aid to Gaza. Click 'Show more' to read her comment in full. "President Biden’s support for Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Gaza is losing him respect all over the world. The US is increasingly isolated, with allies like Australia, Canada, India, Japan and Poland switching their votes in the UN General Assembly to support an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. "The UN Security Council will vote again today on a resolution to increase and monitor the humanitarian aid urgently needed in Gaza to save lives. The US cannot afford to be further isolated by vetoing this resolution. But even if passed, such resolutions are not enough. UNSCR 2712, agreed last month, is not being fully implemented. It calls for the protection of civilians, the release of all hostages, and immediate humanitarian access. Only a ceasefire will allow for these calls to be met. "It is negotiation that has led to Israeli hostages being released. Israeli military action has caused the deaths of Israeli hostages, as well as thousands of Palestinian civilians. The destruction of Gaza is making Israel less safe. President Biden’s continuing support for Israel’s actions is also making the world less safe, the Security Council less effective, and US leadership less respected. It is time to stop the killing." Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders and former President of Ireland theelders.org/news/mary-robi…

Two weeks ago, I visited the occupied territories of Palestine, to meet our teams. I visited Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah; unfortunately, it was impossible for me to enter Gaza but I spoke to my colleagues there. I want to share some of my observations from that trip 👇