MADRID 5 Oct. () –
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated this Saturday in London and other cities in the United Kingdom to denounce the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, coinciding with the first anniversary of the beginning of the escalation of violence with the attack by the Palestinian militias. from the Gaza Strip.
The London march left Bedford Square on Saturday morning amidst a large police security detail. The organizers themselves had announced that they were going to “single out” companies and institutions “complicit in Israel’s crimes” such as the Barclays bank or the British Museum.
The march was met with counter-protesters at the intersection of Kingsway and Aldwych and at the intersection of the Strand and Trafalgar Square, the Metropolitan Police reported, reports the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’.
Protesters have blocked the street of Tottenham Court with a rally in front of a branch of the Barclays bank and have unfurled a banner with the message “Shame on those who look away from the sadistic genocide mainly of children in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Shortly afterwards they stopped at the British Library with slogans such as “Yemen, Yemen. Make us proud. Force another ship to turn around” or “British Museum painted red. More than 100,000 dead.”
Lebanese and Iranian flags and banners with slogans such as “We do not support genocide” or “Zionism is racism” were seen in Bedford Square while chanting slogans such as “Free Palestine, free.”
Two people have been arrested for an alleged attack on an emergency services worker, the Police have reported, which has confirmed a “major” police operation.
Meanwhile, the British Jewish Group of Deputies and other pro-Israel organizations have held a tribute to the victims of the Palestinian attacks in Hyde Park.
DEMONSTRATION IN EDINBURGH
Also in Edinburgh there has been an important pro-Palestinian mobilization coinciding with the first anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict called by Scottish Friends of Palestine and the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee.
Attendees participated in a silent march in memory of the deceased civilians and demanded a ceasefire and that the British and Scottish Governments impose sanctions on Israel. Among those attending was former Scottish Chief Minister Humza Yousaf.
“The worrying thing is that the pattern of the Israeli Army used in Gaza is now being applied in Lebanon,” lamented one of the organizers, Gerry Coutts, who highlighted the great participation in the call. “I think young people are telling their parents ‘I want to go’, and it is new this year. There are children who are being bombed,” he noted.
From Red Card for Israel, Maree Shepherd, has asked that Israel be “expelled from all world forums”, such as sports, and has called for the release of the hostages.
For David Myles, of Scottish Friends of Palestine, “political leaders cannot say they are working for peace while arming Israel, accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.”
“Pro-Palestinian protests continue to grow and show no sign of decline because governments are not meeting the people’s demands (…). We call for a ceasefire. Governments respond by increasing funding and support for Israel and its actions military. This has to stop,” he argued.
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