Investigation launched after claims Belfast bus driver shouted ‘bomb Palestinians’

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, local documentary-maker Sean Murray alleged that at 1.53pm, a driver “shouted out of the bus to ‘bomb Palestinians’ as he drove past Belfast City Hall. All this while driving with one hand and brandishing an ‘Israeli’ badge.”

In response, the public transport provider stated: “We are taking these allegations seriously and we have launched an investigation.

“The safety of our customers, staff and the wider public is our top priority at all times and we expect all our staff to deal with the public, passengers and colleagues in a friendly, helpful and professional manner at all times.

“Our investigation will include a review of CCTV footage.”

The claims come following a rally in Belfast on Saturday which heard calls for consumers to boycott companies with investments or links to Israel over the war in Gaza.

More than 3,000 people gathered at Writer’s Square in the shadow of St Anne’s Cathedral on Saturday before marching to the headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).

As protesters gathered for speeches prior to the march, leaflets were handed out among the crowd with the logos of companies which organisers were encouraging those present to boycott.

They included multi-national firms like McDonalds, Puma, Hewlett Packard, Axa and Domino’s.

More than 11,400 Palestinians have been killed in the war, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities, as Israel bombards the small strip of land which is home to more than 2.2 million people.

The war, now in its seventh week, was triggered by Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel, in which gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted some 240 men, women and children.