Haaretz
Adar 10, 5767
A group of Irish Roman
Catholic bishops on Tuesday called into question Ireland's commercial ties
with Israel, saying Israel has made the Gaza Strip "little more than a
large prison" for Palestinians.
"Where there is evidence of
systematic abuse of human rights on a large scale, as in the Occupied
Territories, there are questions that must be asked concerning the
appropriateness of maintaining close business, cultural and commercial
links with Israel," said auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Raymond
Field.
There is a long history of support for Palestinians in
Ireland, particularly among nationalist parties such as Sinn Fein, which
equate their own fight to end British rule in Ireland with the desire by
Palestinians for their own state.
Field, chairman of the Irish
Commission for Justice and Social Affairs (ICJSA), which advises Ireland's
top Catholic clerics on social issues, described travel restrictions on
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as an "injustice."
"We are
calling for an end to restrictions on family reunification, and an end to
humiliating treatment of people at checkpoints," Field said in an ICJSA
statement ahead of a meeting with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot
Ahern.
Field said restrictions, which Israel says protect it
against Palestinian attacks, also make it difficult for Christians to
worship at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
"In effect, the communities of Bethlehem
and East Jerusalem are forced to live divided by a 25 foot wall," said
Field.
"We also intend to raise with Minister Ahern the intolerable
situation that is the daily lot of the Palestinians who live in Gaza,"
Field said.
The ICJSA's statement also questioned the way in which
the European Union handled its dealings with Israel.
"While we
welcome cooperation between the EU and its neighbouring countries,
nevertheless such cooperation should not be at the expense of a large
segment of the indigenous population - in this case the
Palestinians."