As children living in Palestine are tucked into bed tonight by parents who don’t know if they’lll wake to live another day, we call on you to take a stand for the Palestinian people, and to ask President Joe Biden to support a permanent ceasefire, an end to illegal occupations and forced evictions and prevent the sale of any more weapons to the Israeli army.

People in Ireland north and south, know only too well the trauma of war, displacement, oppression, discrimination, and unbearable loss. We know the long history of Ireland in struggling against oppression and enforced poverty, accounts for the significant Irish immigrant population in the USA.

Peace in Northern Ireland once seemed like an impossible dream. The long hard path to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was only possible because people took risks for peace. We are now being called on to act in solidarity and help balance the power between the people of Palestine and the State of Israel.

If there is truly to be peace in Palestine, the Israeli Government must end their support for extremists who continue to forcibly and violently evict Palestinians from their homes, much like was done to our ancestors.

For any sort of peace process to be possible, the U.S must stop supporting the Israeli military to act without accountability or impunity. In the last number of days they have killed 63 children using sophisticated weapons, bombed hospitals, and press buildings.

The spirit of freedom wants to transcend violence and trauma; the spirit of freedom only hopes that the next generation will not have to carry the heavy burden of oppression.

Solidarity from the U.S.A was crucial in the building of peace in Ireland and will be crucial in building peace in Palestine.

It is this spirit that we hope this letter awakens in you, a hope that Palestinian children will one day be able to play, be free and thrive without the fear of losing their home, their families, their freedom, or indeed their lives.

Please do everything you can to convince President Joe Biden to back a permanent ceasefire, to stop selling weapons to the Israeli army, prevent illegal settlements and forced evictions - and to act to bring true freedom, equality and hope to the people of Palestine and Israel.

There's no good future for anyone without a good future for everyone.

Signed

Christy Moore

Bernadette Mc Aliskey

Andrew Hozier-Byrne

Mary Coughlan