Latest News Feb 20
February 20, 2026
Solidarity is the aid they cannot control
37 leading aid organisations, including Medical Aid for Palestinians and Doctors Without Borders are to be banned from Gaza at the end of this month. The reason is their refusal to submit to Netanyahu’s bullying. The Israeli government demanded that they come under its control. But that means they would lose the freedom to help those in need and to speak out about the genocide. They would become agents of the apartheid state.
Now Israel will again use its own handpicked agents. Some of these are former partners of the notorious Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which sickeningly murdered Palestinians queuing for aid. There are also Christian Zionist groups, which share the genocidal agenda and are fully committed to the Israeli takeover.
This new stage in the weaponisation of aid will bring new horrors for Palestinians in Gaza. We must push back. We can extend a hand of solidarity through mutual aid. People of Gaza need to know they are not forgotten. We are not going to stand by while Israel tightens its murderous stranglehold over them.
CPSC supports 5 mutual aid groups in Gaza. We help with food, with school books, with baby formula, with tents, with whatever Palestinians need. Mutual aid is solidarity in practice. And it is more vital now than it has ever been.
This week we will hear from Piaras O’Brien from Gaza go Bragh, about their initiatives and how we can support them.
End the blockade, let the aid in!
Join us Saturday on Grand Parade at 1:00pm.
Ramadan KAreem from CPSC
To all who observe
Ramadan is not only a time of fasting, but a time of reflection and self-discipline. It is a reminder to slow down, tend to the heart, strengthen faith, and show greater compassion to those around us, especially those who are less fortunate.
As this blessed month begins, we from CPSC, would like to extend our heartfelt wish to all our Muslim comrades around the world, especially those in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Tribute to Jim LAne
Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.
A chomrádaithe,
We send our sincerest condolences to the family of Jim Lane on his recent passing.
Jim was a lifelong revolutionary, trade unionist and socialist. He was an active member of the Cork Volunteers’ Pipe Band. Jim participated as an IRA volunteer in the “Border Campaign (1956-62)” and remained active in republican politics for the rest of his life, acting as chairman of the Cork City and County H-Block Campaign in the early 1980s. He served as chairperson of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (and an uncompromising Marxist-Leninist. He was a frequent attendee and speaker at the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign for many years.
Jim was a lifelong revolutionary, trade unionist and socialist. He was an active member of the Cork Volunteers’ Pipe Band. Jim participated as an IRA volunteer in the “Border Campaign (1956-62)” and remained active in republican politics for the rest of his life, acting as chairman of the Cork City and County H-Block Campaign in the early 1980s. He served as chairperson of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (and an uncompromising Marxist-Leninist. He was a frequent attendee and speaker at the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign for many years.
You will be sorely missed, a chomrádaí.
Joanna Byrne and Drogheda United
Joanna Byrne TD responds to attempts to remove her as Chairperson of Drogheda United
Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Joanna Byrne, has today responded to attempts to have her removed as Chairperson of Drogheda United.
The attempts, by the board of the club, to remove Deputy Byrne from her position come following her statement last week, issued in her capacity as Sinn Féin spokesperson on Sport, where she stated that Ireland should not play Israel in the Nations League.
Teachta Byrne said:
“On Monday morning, I was informed by the Board of Directors of Drogheda United Football Club that my role as Chairperson of the club was no longer tenable with an expectation that I would resign, something I have told them that I intend to resist.
“This unwarranted action was taken after my public statement last week that Ireland should not play Israel in the Nations League while a genocide against the Palestinian people continues.
“It is profoundly hurtful that expressing a moral view – one shared by the majority of Irish football fans – has led to this approach despite me never referencing the club at any stage whilst doing so.
“I stand over those comments. They were made from a deeply held belief in equality, human rights and the power of sport to take principled positions – as it has done many times in history.
“These fixtures should not go ahead and I believe pressure will grow in the days and weeks ahead against them. This position is in line with Drogheda Utd delegates’ vote at the FAI General Assembly in November in supporting a motion for UEFA to ban Israel from its European Club and International Competitions.
“Drogheda United has been part of my identity since childhood – standing on the terraces, travelling to away games, sharing victories and heartbreaks with family and neighbours. The club is woven into the fabric of my life and of our town.
“To have the honour of serving as Chairperson – and as the first woman to hold that position in the League of Ireland – is a source of great pride to me. I work every day in that role to strengthen the club’s governance, sustainability and standing within Irish football. I do so voluntarily, and always in what I believe to be the best interests of Drogheda United.
“Drogheda United is a community club. It belongs to the people of this town – to the children who pull on the claret and blue for the first time, to the volunteers who give countless hours, to the supporters who travel the length of the country week in, week out. I have always sought to honour that spirit.
“Nothing will diminish my commitment to Drogheda United or to the League of Ireland more broadly. I remain immensely proud of the progress made during my tenure, and will continue to elevate the Club and the League of Ireland at every opportunity.
“This has been a deeply upsetting development for me personally, but my attachment to Drogheda United runs far deeper.
“I will continue to support the club as I always have – as the proudest Chairperson in the Country, a supporter, a volunteer, and someone who believes wholeheartedly in its future and I look forward to seeing it continuing to thrive.”
Joanna Byrne a county united #FreePalestine