The Israeli regime’s genocidal war in Gaza is ongoing. So is the public campaign to try and stop it. Organizers say half a million, many of them young people, from across the UK descended upon the Capitol London to push the government to act on their demands.
A ceasefire in the short term and then, ultimately, end of occupation.
Protestor 01
It is absolutely despicable that our country and our political representatives cannot reflect our views and show that we, firstly, want a ceasefire and, secondly, want to use some kind of influence to work into a debate towards a peaceful political solution.
Protestor 02
We want an immediate ceasefire that ends the occupations.
Protestor 03
The March comes hot on the heels of the US-UK military strikes on Yemen, and a day after the International Court of Justice heard a landmark genocide case against Israel, proposed by South Africa, a case the UK government did not support.
UK governments for decades have been complicit in failing to hold Israel to account and thereby supporting the sustenance of its system of apartheid.
This is a particularly egregious episode in our history of complicity because what we are complicit with now is a [sic] genocide.
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Among the diverse crowd many healthcare professionals, who know all too well the impact of the relentless US/Israeli bombardment of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, were present
I think what we’re seeing is a systematic targeting of the health care system in the Gaza Strip, and in fact, the entire infrastructure and supply of things that are needed to keep a population alive.
If you just think about you, for example, and what you need to stay alive.
You need water, you need food, you need shelter, depending on your living situation, you are going to need electricity. And if you’re unwell, you need a hospital.
And those are all the things that have been systematically targeted.
Tanya Haj-Hassan, Co-Founder, Gaza Medic Voices
What is striking about this protest, as with the previous ones, is not just its sheer size, but also its youthfulness.
Young men and women who have been energized by the knowledge that the pressure they have brought to bear over the past three months can contribute to a change in the policy of the British government on the ongoing Israeli massacre of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
This is the first national pro-Palestine demonstration of the year. Organizers say as long as the bloodshed in Gaza continues so will their campaign.
