Bloody Sunday Trust slams Israeli government after social media post

The Bloody Sunday Trust has slammed the Israeli government after a social media post comparing the current situation in Palestine with what happened in the Bogside in January 1972.

The chairperson of the Bloody Sunday Trust, Tony Doherty, whose father was murdered on that day has said that he "is absolutely staggered" that the Israeli Defence Force have claimed that the current situation unfolding in Palestine is "their Bloody Sunday".

The statement carries a short clip of U2 frontman singing in praise of the Israelis after last week’s attacks by Hamas.

“Bloody Sunday was an attempt by the British government to drive those marching for civil and human rights off the streets. It was shortly followed by lies about the deceased which fed British propaganda for decades.

“What happened in Derry in January 1972 can easily be compared to what the Israeli apartheid government and its armed forces have done to thousands of innocent people in Gaza and what they now plan to do. It is turning right, truth and justice on its head to justify genocide. It is blunt manipulation being used for dark propaganda purposes and should be dismissed as such.

“The Israeli claim was posted with @U2 tagged in. U2 have yet to distance themselves from this claim, which for an Irish rock band is simply atrocious. The Bloody Sunday Trust will continue to fly the Palestinian colours over Free Derry Wall as we have done for many years.

“The Irish government needs to become more vocal in its opposition to the genocide in Gaza. We have rightfully distanced ourselves as a nation from the wholehearted support provided to Israel by Ursula Von der Leyen, the President of the European Union.

“This will go down as a terrible stain on the European project. We need to push for peace, the end of all hostilities in Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine/Israel and get all sides to commit towards peaceful methods of resolving political and historical differences.’”