The Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign warmly welcomed the strong Palestinian solidarity motion that was passed at the biennial Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) conference last weekend. This resolution called for boycott and divestment from Israel and companies such as Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH), who are building Israel's apartheid Wall, and for support for beleaguered Palestinian trade unions. The motion authorized the leadership of the Irish trade union movement to undertake a wide range of measures to oppose Israel's oppressive actions and to show solidarity with Palestinians. These include a commitment to "actively and vigorously" promote a policy of boycott and divestment, to make direct representations to the government and the EU, and to mobilise EU-wide trade union solidarity action. The conference also called on ICTU to send a senior delegation to the Palestinian territories to establish solidarity links. It also welcomed the establishment by the ICTU of Trade Union Friends of Palestine.
As Eamon McMahon of TUFP commented, "ICTU is the largest mass organisation of the Irish working class. It represents all sections of labour - from low-paid to senior management - and all sectors of industry and employment. It is highly significant that there was no opposition at all to any of the motions, even though they represent what must be one of the strongest positions adopted by any trade union congress in the world. The estimated 160 settlements built on confiscated Palestinian land, harbour around 450,000 Jewish settlers. International humanitarian law prohibits Israel from transferring parts of its own civilian population into occupied Palestinian territory. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed the illegality of the settlements in its advisory opinion of 2004. Moreover, the Court urged the international community not to support settlements nor the building of the wall."
Read more on Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign