Houthis a ‘terror’ group after bid to hit US bases
Leo urged to boycott Biden St Paddy’s trip Sanctions back as plot found & UK ship struck
PBP’S Paul Murphy
PEOPLE Before Profit has called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to boycott the traditional St Patrick’s Day jaunt to Washington to meet the US President to protest “genocide Joe Biden’s” stance on Israel.
Paul Murphy also called on Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald and all other Government ministers and TDS not to engage in any St Patrick’s Day festivities with any US Government official.
America has been seen as a key ally to Israel as the war in Gaza continues to rage.
Mr Biden’s Government has provided military aid and political support to Israel following the Hamas strike on October 7.
Speaking on the Leinster House plinth, Mr Murphy stated that the gift of a bowl of Shamrock to President Biden could be seen as a “symbol of support” on the US’S stance.
He said: “St Patrick’s Day is coming up, traditionally an occasion when the Taoiseach presents a bowl of shamrock to US President Joe Biden, in this case, and when other Irish political leaders go and meet Joe Biden and other members of the US administration.
GENOCIDE
“We want to say we’ll be calling on all politicians that no politician should go and meet with genocide Joe Biden, should meet with members of the US administration in the US for St Patrick’s Day as long as this genocide is continuing, as long as the US is providing huge amounts of military and political support for it.
“We have to send a signal that Ireland as the vast majority of the people in this country, Ireland says no to this genocide, opposes what is happening and opposes the US support for it.
“It’s important that the government and all politicians say we will not be going to shake hands with Joe Biden or other members of the US administration.”
In an interview with The Journal last month, Mary Lou Mcdonald said that she did not believe a boycott “would resolve the issue at hand in the Middle East”.
Mr Murphy said that he hopes Sinn Fein changes its position on the matter.
AMERICA has re-designated the Houthis as a terror group after revealing the Yemeni rebels’ plan to attack US bases in the Middle East.
President Biden had lifted the designation, which comes with economic sanctions, to avoid even worse famines in Yemen.
But it was reimposed as the US Department of Defense revealed: “The Houthis in Yemen have prepared plans to target US bases in the Arab region.”
However, US officials say they will design financial penalties on the Houthis to minimise harm to Yemen’s population of 32 million, some of the world’s poorest.
Houthis are also thought to be behind an attack on a British ship in the Gulf of Aden yesterday. The captain of the unidentified vessel said a fire was extinguished.
The Houthis have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea since November.
They say by doing so they are backing Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip.
The US has now launched three airstrikes on Houthi targets.
It hit anti-ship missiles in the assault on the Iran-backed group, which claimed responsibility for attacking a ship on Tuesday.
In linked regional violence, an Iranian missile attack on Erbil, Iraq, came close to hitting a US consulate building. Iran says it was targeting a local HQ of Israeli intelligence service Mossad.
But adding fuel to claims Iran is training Gazan Hamas fighters, an Islamic jihad fighter captured in the Strip reportedly told Israel he and others trained in Iran.
Also in opposition to the Gaza war, which has so far killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters are firing on northern Israel almost daily.
Israel has hit back with bombs and artillery strikes.
In Gaza, shaken residents continued to return to areas vacated by Israeli troops, including the blitzed Nasirat refugee camp, in Deir al-balah.
Around 355 people have been killed in Palestine’s West Bank territory since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 and sparked the conflict.
■ Two US Navy SEALS remain missing after the elite troops seized Iran-made missile parts from a ship bound for Yemen’s Houthis last week. One was washed overboard and the other dived in to save him.
Nasirat camp in Gaza yesterday
The Houthis in Yemen have prepared plans to target US bases in the Arab region
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ON TERRORISM DESIGNATION