By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON (AA) – Demonstrations across major cities in England were organized on Saturday, demanding justice for Palestine following the end of attacks by Israeli forces on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other sister organizations, thousands of protesters took to the streets of London, Coventry and Swindon and called on the government to impose sanctions on the Israeli government and to end all arms sales to Israel.
“Yes the violent, indiscriminate and traumatic attacks on Gaza have ended for now but we all know that the struggle is not over and that our brothers and sisters in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem and at the noble Al-Aqsa compound continue to face oppression and occupation by Israeli forces and Zionist settlers, let us not forget this for one moment,” a member of the campaign said.
“The (UK) government has a responsibility in holding Israel to account for the atrocities it has committed in Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa as well as other occupied territories where hundreds have been killed and thousands more injured and displaced. The (UK) government also has a responsibility in helping to rebuild Gaza,” she added.
In London, thousands of demonstrators convened on the northern banks of the River Thames before marching throughout the capital’s busy high streets and finally arriving at Hyde Park when they listened to speeches at Speakers’ Corner and chanted slogans.
Hundreds of protesters also gathered in the central Broadgate Square of Coventry city in the Midlands, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free! Free! Palestine!” and “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!”. In Swindon, demonstrators and activists also marched through central areas of the city and demanded justice for those killed in Gaza.
“Israeli attacks on Gaza are cyclical, they occur every couple of years and their intention is to stifle development and keep its inhabitants in a vicious cycle of poverty and despair. This attack, however, is different, it has awoken in many people across the world a certain rage and sadness and this is what we are seeing here today in London and elsewhere and we hope the people of Palestine see this message and know they are not alone,” one of the protesters said.
On Friday, an Egyptian brokered cease-fire between Palestinian resistance groups and Israel came into effect, putting an end to 11 days of fighting.
At least 279 Palestinians have been killed, including 69 children and 40 women, and 1,910 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem, now occupied by Israel, might eventually serve as capital of a future Palestinian state.
