‘It’s part of our psyche’: why Ireland sides with ‘underdog’ Palestine

Ireland is seen as an outlier in the EU - but its sympathy for the suffering in Gaza is rooted in its own historic experience

The video clips have pinged around the world on social media eliciting applause, anger and a puzzled question: why are Irish politicians so outspoken about Israel's bombardment of Gaza?

The taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, described the assault as approaching revenge", the foreign minister, Micheal Martin, called it disproportionate" and opposition politicians went much further in calling it mass murder. Some wore the keffiyeh in parliament.