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@wereontheditch.bsky.social
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 9h
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has defended her 2024 meeting with an ex-Israeli spy. Her defence however, in correspondence seen by The Ditch, involved carefully chosen words before she passed the matter to her assistant. www.ontheditch.com/jennifer-car...
ontheditch.com
Health minister defends meeting Israeli spy
Her defence however, in correspondence seen by The Ditch, involved carefully chosen words.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The US military fighter jets that landed at Shannon Airport on Saturday dropped missiles on Iran earlier this year. Micheál Martin lied to journalists when he said armed US soldiers – deployed for the illegal war on Iran – weren’t landing at the airport. www.ontheditch.com/fighter-jets...
ontheditch.com
Fighter jets used to bomb Iran land at Shannon Airport
They launched a combined 35 missiles during Operation Epic Fury.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The Irish state quietly supports war in the Middle East Because the country is so heavily reliant on foreign direct investment from the US, critics have accused the government of turning a blind eye And all the while Shannon remains a de facto US military base
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
When the Irish right wing fly tricolours they’re exclusionary. Some exclude the north from Ireland. They share that denial with southern liberals for whom this proposed Orange march is further reason to oppose the united Ireland they've never wanted. www.ontheditch.com/comment-no-g...
ontheditch.com
Comment: No going down that road
Alongside the flags there’s graffiti reading FUCK THE SASH. And why not.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The IDA’s CEO prepared to discuss the Occupied Territories Bill and the “impact of US FDI” during a meeting earlier this year with US ambassador Edward Walsh. Government later weakened the bill before it finally passed this summer. www.ontheditch.com/ida-chief-di...
ontheditch.com
IDA CEO discussed OTB, US FDl with Trump’s ambassador
The state agency declined to release the names of the people who attended the meeting.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The FAI has removed a list of directors and senior management from its website after controversy over Ireland’s fixtures against Israel. Former Ireland football manager Brian Kerr has called on the board to resign. www.ontheditch.com/fai-scrubs-d...
ontheditch.com
FAI scrubs directors' names from website
David Courell claimed earlier this month that “extreme mem­bers of the pub­lic” were engaging in “harassment” of FAI management.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Gavin Bazunu maintained his connection to all of us opposed to this match. He was also able to act, facing implicit and explicit threats. He turned his character to action, in a decision that was deeply personal but also collective. Thank you. www.ontheditch.com/comment-than...
ontheditch.com
Comment: Thank you Gavin Bazunu
He turned his character to action, in a decision that was deeply personal but also collective.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
However there was a group thrilled to see Donald Trump: the grunting pigs in the Doonbeg residents’ bar, who erupted with cheers and chants when their king waddled past, surrounded by his security detail. Some shouted “four more years”. www.ontheditch.com/comment-the-...
ontheditch.com
Comment: The Bay of Pigs
There was a group thrilled to see Donald Trump: the grunting pigs in the Doonbeg residents’ bar.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Wearing number 19, Natalie smiled for photos with a scarf reading An Phalaistín, designed by Dublin artist Spicebag, over her shoulders. Two years later she is sitting in an Israeli jail. She faced her sixth court hearing yesterday evening. www.ontheditch.com/we-are-livin...
ontheditch.com
Palestinian footballer who played Bohs stuck in Israeli jail
“We are living a nightmare,” her father told The Ditch.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
An Israeli-owned property company with a history of prohibition notices for its rentals in Ireland is seeking retention permission for the third time in Phibsborough for an illegal letting. www.ontheditch.com/israeli-land...
ontheditch.com
Illegal lettings in Dublin and Drogheda seek retention
Along with claims to own €25 million in assets across the country.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The Ditch live with The Phoenix 🗓️ 8 October 🕰️ 7pm 📍 The Whistleblower The Phoenix’s editors join The Ditch for a celebration of Goldhawk Paddy Prendiville, Paul Farrell and past contributors chat about 43 years of the iconic magazine Tickets: www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-ditch-...
eventbrite.ie
The Ditch live with The Phoenix
The Phoenix’s editors join The Ditch at The Whistleblower for a celebration of Goldhawk and a live recording of The Ditch: The Pay Line
0117
The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
🗣️ Aaron Maté, one of our most consistent critics of western imperialism, joins The Ditch in Dublin to discuss his work. 🗓️ Wednesday, 30 September 🕰️ 6pm 📍The Whistleblower ⬇️ Tickets here ⬇️ www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-ditch-...
eventbrite.ie
The Ditch live with Aaron Maté
Journalist and author Aaron Maté (The Grayzone, Their Blood, Our Bullets) joins The Ditch in The Whistleblower
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
More than a third of the Israeli ex-intelligence agents based in Ireland exposed by The Ditch in 2024 have scrubbed details of their Israel Defense Forces service from their LinkedIn profiles. www.ontheditch.com/israelis-in-...
ontheditch.com
Israelis in Ireland concealing former intelligence roles
As Palestinians continue to be denied the opportunity to study in Ireland.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A League of Ireland commercial partner is a US military contractor that helps “optimise the performance” of soldiers – and also provides performance analysis to Israeli sports teams. It’s received more than $4 million in Department of War contracts. www.ontheditch.com/league-of-ir...
ontheditch.com
LOI partner: $4 million+ in US war department contracts
“Facilitating an optimal route to warfighter optimisation.”
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Raytheon, it was clear, wasn’t particularly welcome in Derry, and anyone found to have disrupted its activities would be likely found, by their peers, to have acted within the bounds of their legal duty. www.ontheditch.com/comment-the-...
ontheditch.com
The Raytheon 9, the northern arms industry and ‘moving on’
Ordinary people sitting in judgement will choose humanity over barbarism.
0108
The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A company funded by Enterprise Ireland – with more than €800,000 public cash behind it – has partnered with at least three international arms manufacturers accused of complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza. VRAI has also partnered with Britain’s RAF. www.ontheditch.com/enterprise-i...
ontheditch.com
Public funds for partner of firms accused of genocide complicity
VRAI has got more than €800,000 from Enterprise Ireland.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Jim O’Callaghan’s justice department granted residency to Israelis who served in the Israel Defense Forces during the Gaza genocide – while new statistics show Palestinian long-term visa refusals continuing to rise. www.ontheditch.com/government-g...
ontheditch.com
Government grants residency to IDF soldiers
Palestinian visa refusals continue to rise.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Though Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes wrote last month that losing a job is "one of the most traumatic events a person can go through”, he co-led a team responsible for cutting 200 jobs at a global tech company – including 70 roles in his own constituency www.ontheditch.com/social-democ...
ontheditch.com
Eoin Hayes boasts about cutting 200 tech jobs
Including 70 in his own constituency.
0225
The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
🗣️Refused, betrayed: Palestinian students locked out 🗓️ 15 September 🕰️ 6pm 📍 The Whistleblower With Palestinian students left terrified at the Irish state’s widespread rejections of student visas, Abubaker Abed and Brendan Ciarán Browne join The Ditch to discuss resistance
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Comment: The outrage from the Phoenix Park, at the term disinformation being applied to garda communications, is partly about state power: when the state lies, it’s not disinformation. It’s just strategy. www.ontheditch.com/comment-a-re...
ontheditch.com
A reflection on An Garda Síochána and whiny proceduralism
An Garda Síochána takes a curious approach to politics.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
With the state – for the first time in a decade – refusing more Palestinian visas than it grants, a group of international academics have called off a gathering at Maynooth University in protest. ‘It would be an act of bad faith to proceed.’ www.ontheditch.com/internationa...
ontheditch.com
International academics protest Palestinian visa refusals
The impact on the capacity for Palestinians to engage freely in intellectual exchange is grave
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland in its successful application for a position identifying antisemitic content online told Coimisiún na Meán it would internally classify material “claiming Israel’s existence is racist” as antisemitic. www.ontheditch.com/jewish-repre...
ontheditch.com
JRCI classifies anti-Zionist content as ‘antisemitic’
It said it an application for a media regulator role.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
SIPO has launched a formal inquiry into The Ditch reports that Fianna Fáil junior minister Niall Collins voted to sell local authority land that was bought by his wife. Last year only around two percent of all complaints proceeded to the inquiry stage.  www.ontheditch.com/sipo-launche...
ontheditch.com
SIPO launches inquiry into Collins land deal
Last year only around two percent of all complaints to SIPO proceeded to this stage.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
British authorities detained two Irish neutrality activists on their way to an anti-NATO demonstration outside London on “anti-terrorism” grounds.   “They told us we were being ‘detained’, not arrested,” said one. www.ontheditch.com/british-deta...
ontheditch.com
British detain Irish neutrality activists
They were detained on “anti-terrorism” grounds.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The campaigns manager in Ireland for a foreign political organisation carrying out a “name and shame” campaign against TDs is married to an Aontú general election candidate who sits on the party's ard comhairle. www.ontheditch.com/citizengo-th...
ontheditch.com
Foreign campaigners don’t have to disclose spend in Ireland
CitizenGo has been carrying out a “name and shame” campaign.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
More than 700 new PPS numbers and 600 work permits have been granted to Israelis in Ireland since October 2023.  For the first time in a decade the Irish state refused more Palestinian visa applications than it granted. www.ontheditch.com/with-the-sta...
ontheditch.com
State refuses Palestinian visas, Israelis get PPS numbers
From 2024 to 2026, 591 work permits were granted to Israelis, with just 72 issued to Palestinians.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Enterprise Ireland went “cocktail networking” for the arms industry at the French embassy – the day after media reported government was set to relax rules on state agencies backing defence companies.  www.ontheditch.com/enterprise-i...
ontheditch.com
Enterprise Ireland: cocktail networking, the arms industry
The day after media reports of the government relaxing rules on backing arms companies.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Fianna Fáil junior minister Niall Collins mocked a constituent concerned about Fianna Fáil removing the triple lock – and refused to engage with correspondence, instead responding, “Thank you for your AI generated email.” www.ontheditch.com/niall-collin...
ontheditch.com
Collins mocks concerned constituents’ email as AI generated
It wasn’t.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
For the first time in a decade the Irish state has refused more Palestinian visa applications than it  granted – while Israelis continue to benefit from visa-free travel to Ireland. The refusal rate for Palestinian applicants has quadrupled since 2023. www.ontheditch.com/palestinian-...
ontheditch.com
Palestinian visa refusal rate exceeds 50 percent
For the first time in a decade
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The family of an Irish activist on trial in Germany are calling on government to send an observer to the ongoing case in Stuttgart – and say he’s being denied his right to a fair trial.  www.ontheditch.com/its-so-paten...
ontheditch.com
Family of Ulm 5 direct actionist demand government observer
He’s been denied bail and kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
PwC hosted a private briefing for Irish companies seeking defence contracts, the arms industry representatives and the European Defence Agency, according to a “strictly confidential” invitation seen by The Ditch. www.ontheditch.com/strictly-con...
ontheditch.com
PwC host arms industry and European Defence Agency in Dublin
Correspondence for the briefing referred to the “unprecedented” levels of EU defence spending.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The Oireachtas committee responsible for scrutinising TDs and senators’ expenses met just once last year – and didn’t sit even after finding a third of sampled members couldn’t account for their expenses. It’s required to meet four times a year. www.ontheditch.com/oireachtas-c...
ontheditch.com
Committee that checks TDs' expenses met just once last year
It’s required to meet four times.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Coimisiún na Meán has admitted the state’s lack of Irish-language media is a risk – but has failed to implement proposals from Irish language organisations. The Ditch reported last month that TG4 warned that the Irish government is breaching EU law. www.ontheditch.com/media-regula...
ontheditch.com
CnaM media diversity policy fails to address RTÉ ‘monopoly’
It has however admitted the state’s lack of Irish-language media is a risk.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The Ditch’s Paulie Doyle joins Saints and Scholars’ panel discussion on technology, militarism and Ireland. Aim set on: Al warfare Drones Data centres Peter Thiel Tomorrow at 7pm in Connolly Books’ New Theatre
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
One week before Daniel Kinahan found himself in handcuffs, the first of five current and former gardaí began appearing before Dublin District Court on serious corruption charges. But the state didn’t make a spectacle of their alleged criminality. www.ontheditch.com/very-large-n...
ontheditch.com
Comment: A very large net
Daniel Kinahan is synonymous with what tabloid newspapers call "gangland”.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The PSNI says it isn’t in the public interest to disclose how many of its weapons have gone missing or been stolen from custody in the past two years An-ex officer faces charges alleging he stole thousands of rounds of ammunition from a training facility www.ontheditch.com/psni-wont-re...
ontheditch.com
PSNI won’t release details on weapons missing from custody
It says it’s not in the public interest.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Competition undertakings to separate the British owner of Ireland’s largest regional media group from the advertising sales house his rivals depend on have “proven ineffective”, according to Celtic Media Group. ‘This is not healthy for media plurality.’ www.ontheditch.com/competition-...
ontheditch.com
Competition undertakings ‘ineffective’ in regional media
The British media executive has been hoovering up Irish titles
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The Irish government is breaching EU media freedom law and RTÉ “is a monopoly” – according to TG4. The Irish-language public service broadcaster has urged Coimisiún na Meán to intervene to secure the “editorial independence of Nuacht TG4”. www.ontheditch.com/tg4-rte-is-a...
ontheditch.com
TG4: RTÉ is a monopoly
It's also breaching EU media freedom law.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Since being brought back into the ministerial fold, Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy has almost trebled his money on a rental property investment and bought out his business partner on a separate investment property now worth around €1 million.  www.ontheditch.com/robert-troy-...
ontheditch.com
Robert Troy trebles his money on investment property
He resigned as a minister of state in August 2022 after a series of Ditch stories.
02814
The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Comment: 'The likes of Micheál Martin and Simon Harris have no use for a diaspora that wants to help secure a state resolved “to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts”.' www.ontheditch.com/comment-offi...
ontheditch.com
Official Ireland wants a diaspora of visitors and investors
None of this is what the diaspora is meant to think about.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
An Ireland-based weapons manufacturer implicated in the Gaza genocide lobbied the Department of Finance this summer about economic sanctions during the period the Occupied Territories Bill was passed and signed into law.  www.ontheditch.com/weapons-manu...
ontheditch.com
Weapons manufacturer lobbied government on sanctions
During the period the Occupied Territories Bill was passed and signed into law.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
The Department of Foreign Affairs won’t release records of what Helen McEntee told an off-record closed-door dinner organised by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk's Board of Yalta. Pinchuk has been described by Forbes magazine as an “oligarch”. www.ontheditch.com/department-o...
ontheditch.com
McEntee addressed 'closed door' dinner at oligarch event
The Department of Defence won’t release the records.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
SIPO won’t say if it – as required by law – investigated a member of the Oireachtas who failed to submit proof of their tax compliance. SIPO said it takes ethics “seriously”.  www.ontheditch.com/sipo-wont-say/
ontheditch.com
SIPO won’t say if it complied with ethics law
SIPO said it takes ethics “seriously”.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
SIPO finished last year without a single investigation underway – despite a 63 percent rise in complaints against public officials. It received 186 complaints under the Ethics Acts last year with another 73 carried over from previous years. www.ontheditch.com/sipo-finishe...
ontheditch.com
SIPO finishes year without single ongoing investigation
Despite a 63 percent rise in complaints against public officials.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
A Ditch investigation into how Dublin investment firm Elkstone and its chief executive Alan Merriman coordinated a $500,000 investment in a deal involving Jeffrey Epstein was removed from Google search worldwide after a bogus copyright complaint.  www.ontheditch.com/dublin-inves...
ontheditch.com
Ditch story on Elkstone Epstein deal deleted from Google
It was subject of a bogus copyright complaint.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Fianna Fáil’s Norma Foley opened the new office of a business illegally renting out properties in her constituency for more than €300 a night. "I support any business which showcases the beauty and attractiveness of Kerry," said Foley. www.ontheditch.com/norma-foley-...
ontheditch.com
Foley backs company behind illegal short-term lets
"I support any business which showcases the beauty and attractiveness of Kerry."
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Comment: Loyalists and Free State Nationalists are natural allies because they both serve the capitalist class. Their ideologies care more about sectarian interests than class. www.ontheditch.com/comment-free...
ontheditch.com
Free State Nationalists and loyalists: natural allies
Their ideologies care more about sectarian interests than class interests.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The Irish state investment fund increased its shareholding in Peter Thiel's Palantir last year as the Israeli military used its technology to commit genocide in Gaza. www.ontheditch.com/irish-state-...
ontheditch.com
Irish state increases Palantir shareholding
As the Israeli military used its technology to commit genocide in Gaza.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Two senior tech lawyers at Dublin law firm Mason Hayes & Curran – including its chairperson and Meta’s external Irish counsel – were going to attend Peter Thiel’s cancelled Dialog event in the Powerscourt Hotel. www.ontheditch.com/mason-hayes-...
ontheditch.com
Mason Hayes & Curran chair was going to attend Thiel event
The firm counts Meta, Twitter, Adobe, Qualtrics and Verizon Media among its clients.
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The Ditch @wereontheditch.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Challenge Airlines illegally transported “military aircraft parts” through Irish territory to Israel last night. The Irish government has refused to act since The Ditch first reported on the airline’s illegal munitions trafficking almost two years ago. www.ontheditch.com/airline-ille...
ontheditch.com
Airline illegally transports munitions to Israel
It did so two years after being exposed.
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