Thousands of people attended a pro-Palestine solidarity march in London, calling on the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) currently Meet in the southwest of England to support Palestinian rights.
As part of the “Resist G7: Day of Action for International Justice” rally, demonstrators marched to Prime Minister Borris Johnson’s official residence in Downing Street on Saturday, chanting and waving placards protesting Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The protesters demanded an end to what they called complicity in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinians by the UK and other G7 governments.
Former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the march and addressed the crowd.
“During today’s Justice for Palestine protest in London, I also called for an end to arms sales,” Corbyn wrote on Twitter.
“UK-made guns kill civilians – including children – in conflicts overseas. It must stop, ”he said.
During today’s Justice for Palestine protest in London, I also called for an end to arms sales. UK-made guns kill civilians – including children – in conflicts overseas. It must stop. pic.twitter.com/Sf2tEGjtkX
– Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 12, 2021
The rally came as the informal club of seven leading economies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US – gathered in Cornwall for the first time in two years to tackle to the global problem. health crisis and climate change.
Paul Brennan of Al Jazeera, reporting from London, said the protesters’ goal was “changing” and “evolving” since the announcement of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the group that rules the besieged Gaza Strip.
from Israel 11 days of bombardment of Gaza killed 253 Palestinians, including at least 66 children, leaving behind many destroyed buildings, houses and infrastructure in the besieged enclave.
“What they’re mainly talking about is BDS to try to force Israel to treat the Palestinian people better,” said Brennan, referring to the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“The call of the protesters here to these G7 leaders is to pay some attention to this and take the issue seriously,” he said.
Protesters want to keep the pressure on for action to become “necessary and inevitable,” he added.
During the march, Raghad al-Takriti, president of the Muslim Association of Britain, said the message to G7 leaders was “clear”.
“It is to ensure respect for international law. It is respect for international law, ”al-Takriti told Al Jazeera.
“It is time for these leaders to talk about enforcement, to end the siege on Gaza … and to stop their complicity, their arms deals with Israel,” she said.
Among the participating groups were the Friends of Al-Aqsa and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which estimated that around 8,000 people came to Downing Street to demand justice for the Palestinians.
In a statement, the PSC said: “All governments have an obligation to end their complicity and help dismantle apartheid. Instead of aiding and encouraging Israel’s racist regime over the Palestinian people, the G7 must end all military-security cooperation with Israel and apply targeted sanctions until Israel complies with international law .
The protest was the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian rallies that have taken place in London since tensions escalated in occupied East Jerusalem over Israel’s planned forced displacement of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah’s attacks on the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Israeli army assaulting Gaza.
In recent weeks, hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory for protesting against Israel’s policies. Dozens of people were injured in clashes with armed Israeli police.
At least four Palestinians – including a child – have been shot dead since Thursday in the occupied West Bank alone.
