Paul Murphy has said he has no regrets following his detention in Egypt and believes, as an elected representative, he has a “much higher responsibility” to highlight the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Last week, the People Before Profit TD flew to Egypt to take part in the Global March to Gaza.
Egypt shares a border with Gaza and activists from around the world planned to march towards the Rafah Crossing, hoping their actions would keep global attention on the conflict.
On The Hard Shoulder, Deputy Murphy noted that a significant number of Gazans are at risk of starvation.
“There’s huge numbers of aid trucks not being allowed in by the Israeli authorities,” he said.
“So, the idea being to highlight to the world how this is happening and how aid has been weaponised in a really extreme way - half a million people are on the verge of starvation.
“And to try to apply pressure on the Israeli regime to lift that blockade, to allow humanitarian access.
“Also, to apply pressure to our own Governments in the west, which are complicit in the genocide.”
The Israeli Government denies that shortages of food and medicines in Gaza are its responsibility; instead, it has accused Hamas of “abusing” the supplies that cross into the territory and insisted it is only “limiting” aid.
However, Deputy Murphy accused the Israeli Government of doing so in order to "pursue ethnic cleansing”.
Arrest
The Dublin South-West TD was detained along with other activists before he made it to Rafah, something he described as “disappointing”.
However, he added that he hoped his arrest meant that “further attention has been shone on this issue”.
“That was really a key point, to make people aware that this is still happening [and] it’s getting worse on a daily basis,” he said.
Some activists were detained as soon as they arrived in the country and deported straight away.
However, Deputy Murphy arrived in Egypt and left the airport without any issue.
“On Friday, it was clear we were being followed and questioned by secret police everywhere,” he explained.
“Basically, there was a plan to get to a certain point and assemble to get closer and closer to Rafah.
“People got broken up into different groups; I was in a particular group that got to this place called Izmalia.
“When we got there, there were soldiers there to take our passports, to hold us there, to detain us there and to drag us away.”
Deputy Murphy alleged that some “very nasty tactics” were then inflicted on other activists.
“The lights would be turned off and not police would be allowed in - hired thugs of the regime,” he said.
“To go in and whip people and stuff - so, quite brutal behaviour.”
10 of 50+ of us on #GlobalMarchToGaza arrived back this morning.
This isn't over. All the groups from around the world are committed to continuing to put pressure on their governments and on Israel to stop the genocide.#FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/DAM5Bi7aJy
— Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) June 17, 2025
When asked whether he regretted travelling to Egypt, Deputy Murphy vowed to continue his activism and campaigning for the Palestinian cause - regardless of the consequences.
“I think all of us, not just politicians, have a duty to stop the genocide that’s happening,” he said.
“But I think there’s a much higher responsibility on those in the public eye, with public profiles.
“If they can use those profiles to raise awareness about what’s happening, to increase pressure on both the Israeli Government and Governments in the west.
“I think it’s the right thing to do, even if there’s a certain risk involved.”
Deputy Murphy continued that the world is at a “very dangerous” juncture in history, adding that he fears a “full scale regional war in the Middle East”.
Main image: People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie
