Patrick Nevin

Election campaign ad in Israel: "we turned Gaza back to the stone age," followed by a counter of how many people the candidate murdered. This ad is from 2019, bragging about the destruction of Gaza 9 years before October 7. The candidate is opposition leader Benny Gantz.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: Issuing arrest warrants against the Prime Minister is a declaration of war. Issuing arrest warrants against the Defense Minister and against the Finance Minister is a declaration of war. And in the face of a declaration of war, we will respond with war. I am not a submissive Jew. No. The Palestinian Authority started a war, and it will receive war. From today, every economic or other target within my authority to strike — whether as Finance Minister or as a minister in the Defense Ministry — will be attacked. Not with words or gimmicks, but with actions. And I announce here and now the first target that will be attacked: immediately after my remarks, we will sign an order for the evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar. I promise all of you — this is only the beginning.

RED ALERT! Military vessels are currently intercepting our fleet and IOF forces are boarding the first of our boats in broad daylight. We demand safe passage for our legal, non-violent humanitarian mission. Governments must act now to stop these illegal acts or piracy meant to maintain israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza. Normalization of the occupation’s violence is a threat to us all. WITNESS IS PROTECTION. PRESSURE YOUR GOVERNMENTS

Ireland approved the export of technology worth at least €20m (£17.3m) to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and other state bodies in 2024, at the height of Israel’s military assault on Gaza. Despite the country’s reputation as an ally in the Palestinian struggle, Irish ministers from the centre-right coalition government only stopped granting export licences for dual-use technology in 2025. The data was uncovered via Freedom of Information requests from the Currency and the Wall Street Journal. Dual-use products like computers and software have both civilian and military capabilities. Each needs its own licence and must be individually signed off by a minister. At least 11 dual-use licences worth €35m were exported to Israel between 2020 and 2024, €20m of that in 2024 alone. “I am absolutely disgusted that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil could have allowed trade and production of dual-use technology to have occurred with Israel at the height of its illegal war on Gaza,” said Duncan Smith, a lawmaker with Ireland’s Labour party. “How low can this government go? It is beyond belief. What is even more concerning is that this practice was stopped in 2025, not in 2024. Did government wilfully turn a blind eye to what was happening?” Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment denied all applications for licences in 2025, documents show, stating a “clear risk the item(s) could be used to assist the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law”. A government spokesperson told the Currency that all applications are “considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with criteria set out within the relevant dual-use and military EU and national regulations, and with Ireland’s international obligations and responsibilities”. Ireland is considered one of Palestine’s biggest allies in Europe. It was the first EU member to call for Palestinian statehood in 1980 and refused to open an Israeli embassy until 1993. As a former British colony, many Irish people relate to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, according to the Institute of Race Relations. Ireland’s commitment to the Palestinian cause has previously been called into question by the US military’s ongoing use of Shannon Airport on Ireland’s west coast. Between January 2024 and last month, Al Jazeera reports, at least 1,300 planes connected to the US military have flown within 60km of the airport, including 45 flights to or from Israel.