Press Release
22nd November 2024
The Bloody Sunday Trust has urged Derry City and Strabane District Council to use the
International Day of Solidarity with Palestine on 29 November as an opportunity to reaffirm
its commitment to formally branding the Council area as an anti-apartheid zone.
Tony Doherty, chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust, said:
The issuing of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Benjamin
Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes, crimes
against humanity, the use of starvation and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities
further criminalises the Zionist apartheid regime.
The ICC action follows on from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion,
delivered on 19th July this year, that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, including
settlements and their infrastructure, are unlawful and ordered that the occupation must be
brought to an end.
The ICJ opinion also rules that all states have an “obligation not to recognize as legal the
situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”
and “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal
presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
If international law is to retain any credibility the ICC and ICJ interventions must hasten the
ending of the apartheid regime just as international pressure, including sanctions brought an
end to apartheid in South Africa.
Derry will always stand in solidarity with Palestine against the injustices they are facing and
has repeatedly expressed support for the right of the Palestinian people to freedom and self
determination.
In support of this unequivocal civic position Derry City and Strabane District Council must
now formally take a stand against apartheid in Palestine, and declare itself an apartheid free
zone, where this crime, and all those who aid and abet it, will never be welcome.
Council should furthermore commit to undertake the appropriate due diligence to ensure it is
fully complying with the ICJ ruling and to ensure it is not directly or indirectly assisting the
illegal occupation of Palestine in any way.
“We are making this call now in the hope that Council can take action by 30 January 2025.
This would be a fitting and very welcome way to mark the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.”
The Bloody Sunday Trust is a member of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine, a
coalition of Irish civil society organisations, trade unions and academic experts which
represents over a million people and is committed to working collaboratively to end Israeli
apartheid against Palestinians.
Bloody Sunday Trust Director Maeve McLaughlin said:
“We will now be seeking meetings with our elected representatives to generate support for
this call. We are sure that the majority of them will back us, but it is important that they bring
this support to the council chamber and demand that concrete formal action be taken.
“Our council should very clearly and very publicly take a stand on this important issue and
announce that we are an anti-apartheid zone.”
For further information contact Maeve Mc Laughlin
