Nobel laureate: Suspend Israel from UN

Mairead Maguire won 1976 peace prize for her work with Catholics and Protestants in N. Ireland.

Mairead McGuire with haniyeh 248 ap (photo credit: AP [file])
Mairead McGuire with haniyeh 248 ap
(photo credit: AP [file])
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire says the United Nations should suspend or revoke Israel's membership. Maguire says Israel should be punished for ignoring a series of United Nations resolutions over the years. Maguire won the 1976 peace prize for her work with Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. She is visiting the Palestinian territories to protest Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel virtually sealed off the territories after the Hamas took over there in 2007. The closure tightened two weeks ago in response to Hamas rocket fire on Israeli border communities. Maguire told a news conference Thursday that it's time for the international community to take action against Israel. Last month, Maguire and 27 international protesters sailed into the Gaza Strip in the "Free Gaza" boat to bring attention to Israel's blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory.