Pro-Palestinian groups protested last night outside a Dublin hotel in which the Israeli ambassador hosted an annual celebration of his country's independence.
More than 100 demonstrators booed guests arriving at the Westin Hotel and chanted slogans condemning Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Gardaí closed a section of Fleet Street to traffic, but the demonstration passed off peacefully.
The protest was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Alliance for Palestine. A spokeswoman for the former, Ms Lynn Jervis, said it was "outrageous" that Israel should be hosting independence celebrations "at a time when it is guilty of human rights abuses throughout the occupied territories".
The campaign had called for a boycott of the event by Irish politicians "as a mark of respect to the victims of Israeli aggression".
Ms Jervis added that she would be "very surprised" if representatives of the Government attended the event, given that they had taken a "very strong line" on the matter. "But there are a lot of people being driven round the back, so they obviously have something to hide."
Journalists were accredited to cover the event, which a spokesman for the embassy said was a private function. The Minister for Foreign Affairs did not attend, but the Department said that there was no significance in this.
Protesters chanted "shame" and "supporters of murder" at those entering the hotel. A banner called on the Government to halt the export from Ireland of components for "high-end" weapons systems, including the Apache attack helicopters used by Israel.
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