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Ambassador ‘looking forward’ to Palestine flag flying over Irish parliament

Staff Reporter, 26 May

Palestine’s ambassador to Ireland has said she is looking forward to

seeing their flag flown over Leinster House on Tuesday.

The formal recognition of the Palestinian state by Ireland, along with

Spain and Norway, culminates months of diplomatic efforts by Irish

officials.

Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid said it was “a very special day” when Irish

premier Simon Harris announced Ireland recognises the state of

Palestine.

She said: “I know that with all that’s going on with Palestine and

against the Palestinian people, we felt it’s a light out of this dark

tunnel.

“It gives hope. I’m really proud of being a representative of the

Palestinian people here in Ireland.”

But she said the feeling is bittersweet: “It’s not easy to feel this

happiness while thousands of people are killed on a daily basis and

Israel is becoming even more vicious.”

The Palestinian Mission in Ireland is to be upgraded to an embassy as

part of the move, and an Ambassador from Palestine to Ireland will be

appointed.

Ireland will also upgrade its Representative Office of Ireland in

Ramallah to an embassy, and redesignate the Irish Representative to

Palestine as the Ambassador of Ireland to the State of Palestine.

In response to Ireland’s announcement on Wednesday that it recognises

the state of Palestine, the Israeli foreign affairs ministry

reprimanded Ireland’s ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness, along with

the Spanish and Norwegian ambassadors.

As part of the “severe demarche”, the ambassadors were shown footage

that Israel claimed was filmed on October 7 while the Israeli national

media was present.

Ireland’s deputy premier Micheal Martin said that the presence of the

national media was not something they had “witnessed before in other

countries or jurisdictions”.

Dr Abdalmajid said she knows “it’s not easy for Ireland to take that

decision” but said it was “the right time” to recognise a Palestinian

state.

She said that the more countries that recognise Palestine as a state,

the more pressure is put on Israel to stop its military offensive in

Gaza, which the ambassador called “the annihilation of a people”.

“I am looking forward to seeing the flag flying on Leinster House,” Dr

Abdalmajid said, adding that Leinster House is representative of the

people of Ireland. “It’s a big moment.”

She said she agrees with Mr Martin when he said the move would give

strength to and “encourage peace lovers” and said “of course not” when

asked about Israeli government’s claim that it “rewarded” terrorism.

She said that Palestine agreed to the Oslo accords but in the past 29

years “Israel exerted every effort to weaken the Palestinian Authority

in every aspect”.

“The far right brought Israel to a very critical situation

internationally. These far-right governments shouldn’t be given the

right to control moderate Israelis who believe and think of peace.”