Prominent Irish lawyer dedicates her award to Palestinian women

‘Women of Palestine to build Gaza again from rubble and from destruction as they have before,’ says Blinne Ni Ghralaigh

Anadolu Staff |26.11.2024 -


JOHANNESBURG

Irish lawyer Blinne Ni Ghralaigh, who was a member of the South African legal team at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has dedicated her “Tatler Woman of the Year Award” to the Palestinian women.

“I would like to dedicate this award to the wonderful women of Gaza. To the tens of thousands who have been killed. The many more who have been injured. Those who have suffered untold hurts and those who are still enduring against all the odds. To the displaced, starving, the bereaved, widowed and maimed,” Ghralaigh said on Sunday in her acceptance speech in a video posted on X.

South Africa filed a case against Israel at the ICJ tribunal based in The Hague in late 2023, accusing Israel, which has bombed Gaza since last October, of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Several countries, including Türkiye, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain, Mexico, Libya, and Colombia, have all joined the case which began public hearings in January.

The top UN court in May ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It was the third time the 15-judge panel issued preliminary orders seeking to rein in the death toll and alleviate humanitarian suffering in the blockaded enclave, where the casualty count has crossed 44,200.


'Women of Palestine will build Gaza again'


Ghralaigh recognized the resilience of Palestinian women who undergo much pain but continue serving their community such as academics and teachers who are teaching the next generation in makeshift tents and bombed-out buildings.


“The women of Palestine will build Gaza again from the rubble and from the destruction as they have before, like Irish women have before, like women do the world over,” she stressed.

She also highlighted the role of Palestinian scientists and women journalists who are still broadcasting the ongoing genocide against Palestinians.

“I hope for a better future ahead for them and for us all. May the future finally be women-led. May it be led by brilliant, fierce, intelligent, and compassionate women like our mothers and grandmothers before us,” she added.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing over 44,250 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,700.


The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with figures and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its brutal war on Gaza.