Former President Mary Robinson believes the Israeli Government want to make Palestine disappear “physically, economically, culturally, and politically.”
She asserted that it was the Israeli government’s policy to dehumanize Palestinians and openly pursue annexation of the West Bank and Gaza.
On The Pat Kenny Show, Ms. Robinson said she was shocked by how much worse conditions in Palestine were when compared with conditions before October 7th 2023.
After returning from a trip to the West Bank and Jerusalem with The Elders, she said the situation in Palestine was “unsustainable.”
Robinson - Palestinian territory “full of Israeli flags”
Ms. Robinson said she, along with former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, visited a Palestinian village and were shocked by the number of “threatening” Israeli flags from illegal settlements.
She said that villagers were terrified and only travelled in groups, following incidents of the Israeli military throwing tear gas into buildings after entering the Palestinian village.
Ms. Robinson said they saw Israeli “outposts” around Palestinian villages. These outposts, which are illegal under both international and Israeli law, are supported by the Israeli military and ‘terrorise’ villages, according to Ms. Robinson.
She spoke of an incident where, when looking at some outposts, the delegation were quickly rushed to safety after hearing Israeli settlers were approaching the group.
Occupied Territories Bill
Ms. Robinson praised the Irish Government’s Occupied Territories Bill. The Bill, which bans the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, was signed into law on July 23rd.
She noted that trade boycotts were called for by the International Court of Justice, and that other EU member states such as Spain and Belgium have passed similar legislation.
However, she noted that the EU had not implemented similar laws, and called for the trade pillar in the EU-Israeli Association Agreement to be suspended under human rights clauses in Article 2.
Israel facing a “very acute election”
Ms. Robinson said the upcoming Israeli election will be critical, as current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to remain in power “because he doesn’t want to go to jail.”
She said that Marwan Barghouti, currently in jail in Israel, may stand for election according to his wife. Ms. Robinson said Barghouti “would unite Palestinians” across the country.
Barghouti has been shot with rubber bullets and kept in solitary confinement in prison, according to Robinson, and she said pressure is increasing as “people have compared him to Nelson Mandela.”
