Irish bishops target Israel

A group of Irish bishops questioned the country’s ties with Israel, whose policies they said have turned the Gaza Strip into a “large prison.”The Associated Press reported that the Irish Commission for Justice and Social Affairs, which advises Ireland’s top Catholic clerics on social issues, cited restrictions Israel imposes on Palestinian travel and family reunification. “Where there is evidence of systematic abuse of human rights on a large scale, as in the occupied territories, there are questions that must be asked concerning the appropriateness of maintaining close business, cultural and commercial links with Israel,” said commission chairman Raymond Field, the bishop of Dublin.