THE Square in Tralee was the setting for a rally on Saturday to show solidarity with the people of Palestine.

There was a good turnout in the sunshine for the event, which was organised by John Loughrey of the Kerry branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly attended, as did his party colleague Cllr Deirdre Ferris and her father, former TD Martin Ferris among many others.

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Pa Daly said it important to show support, particularly since Tralee is twinned with a town in the West Bank, Beit Sahour.

“It’s particularly relevant 100 years on from Gortaglanna commemorated last week [when three IRA men were executed by the Black and Tans], where the false narrative was put out by the Black and Tans that they were ambushed, that we are now countering the narrative that each side is as bad as the other.

“In reality there are UN resolutions that say the change of the status of Jerusalem is wrong, the evictions are illegal, the new settlements are illegal and the narrative that the Israelis are acting in self-defence when they’re bombing buildings and killing scores of people, is clearly wrong,” he said.

“People ask what good will this do, but if the people in our twin town see the rally, they’ll appreciate it. The Irish Government can do two things: they can implement the Occupied Territories Bill and they can recognise the State of Palestine and send an ambassador over there,” added Deputy Daly.

John Loughrey thanked everyone for turning up on the day. He said he had a mixture of sadness and anger with what has been going on.

“The only way I can describe it is that it’s Cromwell in the modern era —plantation and settler colonialism and the international community allows it to happen,” he said.

“The only way things are going to change is if we can create a critical mass among the population that says this is not acceptable, this is wrong and should not be happening,” he added.

Mr Loughrey encouraged people who see Israeli products in shops to take them to to the counter and ask the owner to stop stocking the goods.

Dr Uzair Shabbir of the Kerry Islamic Society also spoke to the crowd and said “humanity takes precedence over ethnicity, religion, nationality and every other creed and sectarianism. We must all come together.” Scroll down for photos…