A legal bid to compel the Irish Government to suspend military-related trade with Israel and stop flights transporting weapons to the Israeli army through Irish airspace has been filed with the High Court.
Supporters of the action waved Palestinian flags and shouted “No jets for genocide” outside the Four Courts in Dublin as the judicial review proceedings were filed on Tuesday.
The action is by: Cork-based community campaign group Uplift; three journalists with news outlet The Ditch –Roman Shortall, Eoghan McNeill and Paul Doyle;and Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati, an Irish-born surgeon who worked in Gaza hospitals.
As an Irish-Palestinian surgeon, Dr El Mokhallalati said he is “outraged that Ireland allows arms trade with Israel and allows military jets pass through Irish airspace, jets that bombed my own family in Gaza, where my Irish children were pulled from under the rubble”.
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“I was arrested and interrogated while treating patients in Gaza,” he said. “I believe it is both a moral and legal imperative for the Irish Government to uphold international law and end complicity with genocide.”
Represented by Phoenix Law, the applicants claim the Government is in breach of national and EU laws by allegedly facilitating military and dual-use trade with Israel. They claim the Government is allowing flights carrying explosives, guns and ammunition to Israel to pass through Irish airspace. They also claim Government is unlawfully continuing to grant permits for military-related goods, including components for F-35 jets, to be exported to Israel.
The proceedings are against the Ministers for Transport and for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Government of Ireland, Ireland and the Attorney General. Before judicial review proceedings can be taken, the High Court has to grant leave which involves deciding whether or not the applicants have an arguable case.
Speaking outside the Four Courts, Mr Shortall and Brian Cuthbert of Uplift said they hope the court will treat the case as urgent and hear the leave application sometime later this week, before the law term ends on Thursday.

The Government has called what is happening in Gaza a genocide “but at the same time continue to allow weapons to be sent to Israel”, Mr Cuthbert said.
“People across Ireland refuse to stand by any longer and allow this travesty to continue and we have been left with no choice but to use the courts to force the Irish Government to stop sending weapons to the Israel Defense Forces.”
In a statement grounding the action, the applicants referred to research and reports published by The Ditch. It is claimed the material showed flights were and are transporting munitions and other weapons of war to Israel through Irish airspace.
Other claims include that goods from Ireland are being exported to Israel for use by two Israeli arms companies for manufacture of weapons and military equipment.
The applicants say the Government’s position in relation to the use of Irish airspace is “unclear and contradictory”. They say the Government maintains Irish airspace has not been used to transport weapons of war while also saying they do not know how Irish airspace is being utilised.
It is argued the applicants have “clear evidence” thatIrish airspace has been used to carry munitions and weapons of war being used against the people of Palestine.
In an affidavit, Dr El Mokhallalati, who worked in hospitals in Gaza in 2023 and 2024, including as head of the burns unit in Al Shifa hospital, said he has lost dozens of family members who were killed in Israeli military strikes.
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“I am haunted by the number of people injured and killed, the children that I treated and the huge numbers of children who died or had their limbs amputated, he said.
“I continue to lose those I love every day, including medical staff and relatives, and I live in fear at what may happen to those who have not perished, with the ever-high risk that my uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents may be lost in this genocide.”
From media coverage and articles, he believes Ireland has been facilitating the transfer of weapons and munitions of war to be used against the people in Gaza, he said.
While appreciative of the solidarity which the people of Ireland, and the Government, have shown to Gaza, he was “disappointed to see that the Irish Government continues to ignore the abuse of its airspace in this manner” and, in this way, is “facilitating the most egregious crimes against humanity”.