A Clare Politics Professor believes the conflict in Gaza could be over by the time the United States builds a port in the territory to deliver humanitarian aid.
It follows a protest held at Shannon Airport over allegations the US military is transporting arms to Israel through the Clare base.
US President Joe Biden insists no American boots will be on the ground in Gaza, but a temporary port will be built to supply food, water and medical aid to the starving civilians trapped in the enclave.
According to US officials, this structure will take at least two months to build, by which time Benjamin Netanyahu claims Israel will have achieved its objective of ‘wiping out Hamas’.
Five months on from the October 7th attacks, over 32,000 have been killed, the United Nations is warning that 2.3m people are at risk of famine and as the fast month of Ramadan gets underway, a ceasefire agreement is no closer.
Professor of Politics at DCU and Newmarket on Fergus Native, Donnacha Ó’Beacháin claims the lack of international action on Israel, is emboldening authoritarian regimes across the globe.
At Shannon Airport, meanwhile, a large crowd of activists occupied the Departure’s Lounge over allegations that US Soldiers are transporting arms to Israel via civil chartered flights out of the MidWest.
In the first nine months of 2023, the Department of Transport granted 234 exemptions to allow US Soldiers to carry weapons on civil flights with a stop at Shannon.
Lisdoonvarna’s Teresa O’Donoghue, who’s a member of the Clare Solidarity Network, claims no checks are taking place to prevent these weapons travelling to active conflict zones.
There are strict conditions underlying the US military’s use of Shannon Airport, namely that all aircraft are unarmed and are not carrying ammunition or explosives; that it doesn’t engage in intelligence gathering; and that the flight in question doesn’t form part of a military exercise or operation.
According to the Department, this policy is well known and is fully understood by the United States and other international partners.
But Léna Seale from the Action for Palestine Ireland claims there is clear evidence to show that military support is passing through Shannon, into Israeli hands and contributing to genocide.
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