ABOUT 500 protesters took part in a demonstration in Dublin yesterday calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland and safe passage for the Rachel Corrie aid vessel which is en route to Gaza.

The protesters marched under Palestinian and Turkish flags, following five coffins symbolising some of those who lost their lives on Monday when an aid flotilla carrying supplies intended for Gaza was raided by Israeli commandos.

Starting at the Central Bank plaza, the protest moved to the Dáil before reaching the Israeli embassy where demonstrators staged a sit-down protest and observed a minute’s silence for the nine activists who died.

A group of protesters vowed to stay overnight to surround and shut down the embassy. Among those who addressed the crowd were Irish passport- holder Issam Ben Ali, originally from Libya, who was one of those in the flotilla, Labour TD Joe Costello and Rev Patrick Comerford.

March organiser and chairman of the Irish Anti-War Movement Richard Boyd Barrett said Israel’s attempts to justify its actions as self-defence had to be utterly rejected. “The victims of Israel’s brutal attack were humanitarian and peace activists, whose only crime was seeking to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.

“Here in Ireland, we must demand that our Government takes genuine action against Israel. Words of criticism or a rap over the knuckles from Micheál Martin are not enough. The Israeli ambassador should be expelled from this country and all trade and diplomatic links with Israel must be severed.”