Local Editor

On Monday Dublin became the first European capital to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights.

Citing the "Israeli" entity's "inhumane blockade and siege of Gaza," the Dublin City Council promised to discontinue all its business contracts with the BDS-targeted Hewlett Packard (HP) branded companies and spin-offs, including DXC Technology, given their complicity in "Israel's" egregious violations of Palestinian human rights.

On Tuesday, the "Israeli" entity tried unsuccessfully to bar entry to Dublin's mayor as he was on his way to attend meetings in Ramallah. "Israeli" authorities mistook his title for his name, drawing ridicule from Palestinian and other social media activists. Mayor Mícheál MacDonncha is currently meeting with Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been peacefully protesting the siege and demanding the UN-stipulated right of Palestinian refugees, who constitute the majority in Gaza, to return to their homes of origin from which they had been forcibly displaced.

This victory for Palestinian rights follows on the heels of two other recent victories in Ireland. Earlier this month, the Irish National Teachers Organization (INTO), with over 40,000 members, passed a resolution which mirrors the 800,000 strong Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) position on Palestine by fully supporting the BDS movement and its aspirations. And less than a week ago, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), representing 374,000 students in higher education, voted to do the same.

Just Wednesday, Cork, Ireland's third largest city, called on the Irish government to "condemn" the "recent massacre" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by the "Israeli" military and to "take diplomatic action against ‘Israel' by expelling a number of its diplomats and recognize the state of Palestine."

Hewlett Packard's violations of Palestinian human rights have been well documented. Aside from providing services and technology to the "Israeli" army that maintains the entity's military occupation and siege of Gaza, and biometric technology that enables the apartheid entity's regime to control and enforce its system of racial segregation against Palestinians, HP has been deeply complicit in enabling the "Israeli" prison system, notorious for torture and other human rights abuses.

HP has already suffered financial and reputational damage from BDS campaigns for Palestinian human rights. Several Christian denominations in the US have already divested from HP at the national level, and 26 Christian congregations across the country have committed to being HP-Free churches which refuse to buy any HP products. The campaign against HP has attracted support from faith communities, student governments and trade unions across the world. Under this pressure, HP has conducted a corporate re-shuffling that renders the companies involved no less complicit or subject to BDS campaigns.

With this decision, Dublin joins dozens of local authorities across the Spanish state, Norway, Sweden, France, the UK, Belgium and Australia that have passed resolutions supporting BDS or pledged to avoid doing business with companies targeted by the BDS movement due to their complicity in the "Israeli" entity's violations of Palestinian human rights.

Source: BDS, Edited by website team