It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Tens of thousands protest for Palestine across Britain
In north London protesters targeted the office of Labour leader Keir Starmer
Saturday 18 November 2023
SOCIALIST WORKER
Anger at Israeli terror on the Palestine march in Oxford (Shaun Doherty)
Tens of thousands of people joined around 100 protests across Britain for Palestine on Saturday.
The biggest march was in Glasgow where up to 20,000 were on the street. Dave Moxham, the Scottish TUC union federation deputy general secretary told the rally, “Scotland’s trade unionists support a ceasefire.
“But we go further and say that since the horrific events of 7 October there has been a genocide playing out—and we say no to that.
“It’s not just about pity and solidarity. Our own government and the US government have been complicit in the oppression of the Palestinians now and for three or four generations before that.
“They carved up the Middle East for imperialism and now sell weapons to those massacring the Palestinian people.” He called on the Scottish parliament to back a ceasefire when it votes on Tuesday.
Around 4,000 marched in Manchester, over 2,500 in Liverpool, 2,500 in Bristol and 1,500 in Oxford and Dundee, and over 1,000 in Newcastle. Around 1,500 also protested in Cardiff and occupied the National Museum of Wales. In Sheffield, around 2,000 people protested and the demonstration grew as people marched through the town centre.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) organiser Dick Pitt said to the crowd, “People can’t sit on their hands while Israel commits war crimes.”
In Nottingham, 2,000 marched, a similar size to recent weeks. Richard reports, “The mosques, the left and trade unions are working well together. There is a protest of some sort almost every night. On Friday we had a gathering of health workers and others remembering those health workers killed by Israel in Gaza.”
Around 500 marched through Walsall demanding a ceasefire in Palestine. Speakers at the rally included 2 of the 7 local councillors who had recently resigned from the Labour Party including group leader Aftab Nawaz.
Keir Starmer’s refusal to back a ceasefire and his direction to Labour MPs not to do so either was the final straw for them and others locally
In London, there were ten rallies held in boroughs across the capital. Around 500 protesters gathered outside Keir Starmer’s constituency office in Camden, north London.
Crowds blocked the road and chanted, “Keir Starmer’s a wasteman,” “Keir Starmer you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide,” and, “What do we want? A ceasefire. When do we want it? Now.”m
Protesters held up placards saying, “Stop the war on Gaza,” and waved large Palestinian flags outside the Labour leader’s office.
Around 1,700 people marched in Islington in north London. A spokesperson from Islington Palestine Solidarity group told Socialist Worker, “It was very militant.
“We went to the town hall to demand councillors issue a formal statement in support of Palestine and that they raise the Palestinian flag over the town hall. Then we marched to Angel, and to MP Emily Thornberry’s office.”
The spokesperson said the mainly young and Muslim crowd “recreated the exhilaration” of last Saturday’s national march.
“People felt betrayed by Labour,” he said “They’ve given up on the Tories and are raging at Labour. None of the Labour councillors we invited attended.”
Over 1,000 people protested on Turnpike Lane in north London, in Hackney east London, and in Lewisham, south London. There were 350 in Camberwell in south London and a similar number in Tower Hamlets in east London. People marched from Altab Ali Park to Bethnal Green, protesting at the Labour Party offices as they went.
Akram Salhab, a Palestinian organiser and student at Queen Mary university, told the crowd he had been in Jerusalem last week. “It’s really important we organise an anti-imperialist protest movement in this country” he said.
In Waltham Forest, 250 people gathered outside Barclays Bank, demanding the bank divests from all companies supplying weapons to Israel. This was followed by a spontaneous march around the centre of the east London borough. There were over 100 in Acton in west London and 200 in Tooting in south London.
A group of pro-Palestinian protesters sat down in the centre of London’s Waterloo station demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. The group chanted, “Free, free Palestine,” “Sit down, join us,” and, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
It wasn’t just the big cities that saw protests. There were over 100 in Matlock, Derbyshire. Jeannie reports, “There were powerful readings and poems and a very emotional reading of the names of some of the dead.
“Lots of people signed up to be more involved. There’s going to be a Palestinian film evening and a sponsored walk for Medical Aid for Palestine.
“If this is happening in a sleepy little country town, it gives an idea of the size and breadth of our movement.”
Around 250 marched in Dorchester, Dorset, and 100 in Abergavenny, South Wales. Several protests targeted Labour MPs who had voted against or abstained in the vote last week on the SNP amendment to the King’s Speech calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The marches and other events show the determination to keep protesting for Palestine. But they don’t have the same impact as a massive national demonstration like the one of 800,000 or more in London last Saturday.
Everyone has to build next Saturday’s national march, which assembles at 12 noon in central London. And we need more disruptive protests, student and school walkouts, and workplace actions.
Thousands take part in pro-Palestine day of action across UK
Police officers remove pro-Palestinian protesters that took part in a sit-in demonstration at London’s Waterloo Station (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
By Luke O'Reilly, PA
Yesterday
Pro-Palestinian protesters have held a national day of action on Saturday, with thousands of people taking part in events around the UK.
On previous weekends thousands of protesters and counter-protesters have converged on the capital.
However, the movement’s presence was more muted in London on Saturday, with protesters split across more than 100 smaller rallies around the nation.
London hosted 10 events, including rallies in Islington, Camden and Tower Hamlets.
Around 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were from London’s Waterloo station after holding a sit-in protest demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
British Transport Police said at least five protesters were arrested at Waterloo station and no train services were affected (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
The group chanted: “Free, free Palestine”; “Sit down, join us”; and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as they protested in the centre of the station.
Police officers surrounded the protesters before they were escorted from the station, with at least two demonstrators carried from the scene.
British Transport Police (BTP) said five protesters were arrested at Waterloo station and no train services were affected.
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A group of demonstrators who were removed from the station then made their way to Westminster Bridge where they sat in the road before moving to Parliament Square, the Metropolitan Police said.
The force said on X, formerly Twitter: “We believe the group in Parliament Square is a mix of pro-Palestinian protesters and JSO (Just Stop Oil) activists.
“We have arrested a prominent JSO activist from within the group. We have a significant number of officers ready to respond if there is further disruption in the road.”
It comes as protesters held sit-in protests at major UK train stations despite increased policing across railway networks.
BTP deployed enhanced officer patrols in England, Scotland and Wales on Saturday.
Footage shared on social media showed a small crowd sitting on the floor in Manchester Victoria Station, while the force confirmed another group of around 25 had done the same at Leeds station shortly after 2pm.
BTP issued Section 14a orders prohibiting protests on Saturday at many of London’s main rail stations from 10am to 11pm, but shortly after 2.30pm the force posted on X that a group of approximately 200 protesters had arrived at London Bridge station.
A police cordon was also put in place around London Bridge, but five minutes later they posted again to say the group had left the area and passengers could access the station as usual.
BTP deployed enhanced officer patrols in England, Scotland and Wales on Saturday (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
BTP said its officers made five arrests in London on Saturday, while the Met Police said its officers had made 10 – including pro-Palestinian and JSO protesters.
BTP Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said: “In line with our strategy, protesters were issued notices and announcements were made over station sound systems before officers moved to the arrest stage.
“The vast majority of protesters left peacefully, however five arrests were made at a large protest at Waterloo station.”
Transport Secretary Mark Harper posted on X: “Grateful to @BTP officers for their swift work removing those who are intent on spreading intimidation on our rail network. I backed officers with the extra powers they needed, powers possible due to the legislation this Govt passed. Thank you to those who were on duty today.”
Before Saturday’s protests, the Met Police said the force had made more than 380 arrests for related offences since the October 7 attacks in Israel.
Meanwhile, organisers estimated that around 18,000 protesters turned out for a pro-Palestinian event in Glasgow.
Hundreds join school and university walkouts for Palestine
Walkouts in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Luton, Burton on Trent and elsewhere
Friday 17 November 2023
SOCIALIST WORKER
School students in Barking, east London, walk out for Palestine (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Hundreds of school and university students joined walkouts in solidarity with Palestine on Friday.
School students of all ages attended the walkouts, initiated on WhatsApp groups, in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Luton, Burton on Trent and elsewhere.
School student Ayah was one of over 1,000 students and parents who joined a demonstration outside Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford, east London. “I was on the demonstration in London on Saturday,” she said. “It was great, so many people came. I think we have to keep going.”
Ayah goes to Beal High School, where students organised not to attend an assembly with local Labour MP Wes Streeting earlier this month. “About 90 percent of us didn’t attend that assembly,” she said. “We didn’t want to sit and listen to someone who supports Israel and genocide.
She added, “People have been excluded for wearing badges or anything that shows support Palestine. It’s unfair. There’s this double standard. The school says Palestine is too political, but why invite Wes Streeting to speak?”
Students and parents recited poetry and made speeches in front of the crowds. Parent Aklima, who brought her two young children to the protest, told Socialist Worker, “My kids go to school every day. They have 100 percent attendance. But it was just too important for us not to come to protest today.
“My children are watching the news. My daughter has been sobbing, seeing how the children in Palestine are suffering. They want to know why they can’t live an everyday life like them and why they can’t go out and play. Going to protests lets them know that others are as upset and angry as they are.
“I think that schools should do something, why won’t they do an assembly on what’s happening? Why won’t they even check if our children are alright watching what’s going on?
Aklima added that she was furious at her local MPs who abstained in the vote over a ceasefire. “They aren’t listening to us,” she said. “All we are asking for is a ceasefire and to stop the killing of children. I’m so angry that MPs in east London wouldn’t even dare put their jobs on the line for that.”
Hundreds of sixth form students from Newham College in east London walked out of their classrooms to join students and parents outside Newham Town Hall. “I’m here to show I care”, school student Suniraa told Socialist Worker. “I’m upset every day that the Israelis are killing children, so I decided to come to this protest.
“At school we have been organising charity events to raise money for Palestine, including a bake sale. This is my first protest, so it’s a great feeling.”
School student Onuva added, “Palestine means a lot to me. It makes me sad that while I can go to school safely, children in Palestine can’t. For them, their academic year is already over. It also makes me angry that our country is funding a genocide.”
There were also walkouts and protests in nearby Barking. The organisers of the east London walkouts say they will call more action soon.
Hundreds of Sixth form students walked out class at Luton Sixth Form college, raging against its links with arms manufacturer Leonardo UK.
Another 50 student marched around campus at Dundee university. Hundreds of students, parents and workers called for a ceasefire on Buchanan Street in Glasgow.
At Goldsmiths university in south London students held a banner that read, “From the river to sea”. They were joined by members of the UCU union who chanted, “Goldsmiths students it’s our time, shut it down for Palestine.”
Demonstrators then marched to local Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft’s offices—who abstained in the vote over ceasefire in Gaza. Students left photos of children who had been murdered by the Israeli state outside her office.
At Liverpool university, students marched around campus so that more people could see the demonstration and join. Organisers are planning to walk out every week. And in Leeds students met for a rally and then marched around campus. Names have been changed
Israel-Gaza war: Glasgow protesters march for immediate ceasefire
BBC 18th November 2023
Thousands of people have attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Glasgow to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Demonstrators gathered in the east end of the city at Glasgow Green.
Protesters have held demonstrations in cities and towns across Scotland every weekend since hostilities began in the Middle East last month.
Next week, the Scottish government will lead a debate in Holyrood on the situation after MPs in Westminster voted against a ceasefire.
The SNP tabled the motion on Wednesday which was defeated by 125 votes to 294.
First Minister Humza Yousaf has been vocal in his support for a ceasefire and said he was "beyond angry" with MPs who refused to back an immediate end to the fighting.
Mr Yousaf, who was recently reunited with his Palestinian in-laws after they returned to Scotland after being trapped for four weeks in Gaza, warned MPs who did not back an immediate ceasefire were "on the wrong side of history".
Rabbi Pete Tobias told BBC Scotland News he would love to join a rally like the one in Glasgow, if he thought it was "genuinely" seeking to bring peace to the Middle East.
"But I believe that the framing of these marches as 'pro-Palestinian' and the nature of the banners and chants we see and hear makes them partisan, confrontational and frankly dangerous," he said.
Organisers estimated that around 18,000 people turned out for the pro-Palestinian event in Glasgow, arranged by a coalition of groups called the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee.
Nadia Boukdir was one of the many people who came out to show their support for Palestine, despite the rain.
University student Nadia Boukdir said it had been "very tough" seeing the footage coming out of Gaza
The university student, who is originally from Morocco, is studying for her masters at Strathclyde. She told BBC Scotland News it had been "very tough" seeing the footage coming out of Gaza.
"We're trying our best to just speak and not stay quiet because our friends, our sisters, our brothers are dying, children are dying and families are being destroyed," she said.
Anna, a medical student from Edinburgh who is part of a group called medics for humanitarian justice, was also at the protest. She said she came out to show solidarity with her colleagues in Gaza.
Those attending the rally had been urged to write their names on their arms as a gesture of solidarity with the besieged population of Gaza, who have used the method so they can be identified and buried with relatives if they are killed.
"Our government's response has been abysmal and we're demanding that they call for a ceasefire now to protect our colleagues and their patients in Gaza," Anna said.
"They have been consistently attacking healthcare facilities, hospitals, people accessing aid, people distributing aid. This is beyond a war. This is a genocide and we want it stopped."
On Friday, Israel's prime minister said Israel was trying to minimise civilian casualties but had been "not successful", which he blamed on Hamas.
In an interview with CBS News, Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas was firing at Palestinians trying to get safety.
More than 11,500 people have been killed in Gaza, Hamas's health ministry says, since Israel went to war after Hamas's attack on 7 October.
Sammy Stein, who chairs Glasgow Friends of Israel, said his group advocated for peace and supported both the Palestinian and Israeli people.
"We advocate for both people to have their own homeland, which is quite unusual because nobody else, certainly on this street and around the UK that advocates for both sides," he said.
"They tend to be either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. We believe that you cannot have peace for one side and therefore if you want peace you need to have peace for both sides."
Sammy Stein said his group advocated for peace and supported both the Palestinian and Israeli people
Mr Stein said he thinks many of the people who have attend the demonstrations in Glasgow over the last few weeks have been genuine in their pursuit of peace.
"But many of them do not understand the complications of the conflict," he said.
"Now it's all very well for people to walk up and down with banners saying ceasefire unfortunately we know from what Hamas has said that they are not prepared to stop."
He added that he thought there was no point calling for a ceasefire if "you know that one side is not going to honour that ceasefire".
Ahmed A similar rally was held in Aberdeen on Saturday
But that has not stopped similar protests taking place across the UK demanding an end to the fighting, with one in Aberdeen and another in Oxford.
On Friday, hundreds joined a school strike for Palestine, with rallies held in Glasgow, London and Bristol as part of a number of school walkouts organised by the campaign group Stop the War Coalition.
Scottish Greens councillor Blair Anderson said on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that there would be "no punitive action" for any of the Glasgow schoolchildren who attended the rally.
A number of pro-Palestinian marches were also held across Scotland on Armistice Sunday last weekend.
Pro-Palestinian rallies held in Manchester and Liverpool
18th November 2023 BBC
Protesters criticised the British government for not calling for an immediate ceasefire
Thousands of people have marched in Manchester and Liverpool calling for an end to Israel's attacks in Gaza.
Protesters carried a banner describing the UK government as "complicit in genocide" after 293 MPs voted against a call for a ceasefire.
Rallies have been held since war began on 7 October, after Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured more than 200 hostages in Israel.
Since then, more than 12,000 people are reported to have been killed in Gaza.
Demonstrators repeated calls for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
About 3,000 attended a march in Manchester
The Conservative government, along with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, has called instead for "humanitarian pauses" which will allow safe passage of aid into Gaza.
Eight of his frontbench team - including Greater Manchester MPs Afzal Khan and Yasmin Qureshi - resigned from their roles. 'Humanitarian disaster'
Robert Lizar, from Jewish Voice For Labour, told the BBC he hoped "all the MPs will listen again and change their minds and vote for ceasefire now".
"This is a humanitarian disaster and all the MPs should be demanding that our allies, particularly in Washington, tell Israel they've got to stop, there has to be a ceasefire.
"Let's release the hostages, release the prisoners in Israel and we have to make moves towards peace."
He said there had been "difficult conversations [within the Jewish community] because I think quite a lot, but not all, Jewish people feel an emotional attachment to Israel and they feel that's part of their identity".
However he added "a lot of Jewish people are highly critical of what Israel has been doing so we represent that voice".
One man told the BBC he was attending the Manchester protest for "humanitarian reasons", adding: "We cannot stand and watch what's happening."
A large number of police officers were present, with the marches appearing to be peaceful, according to BBC crews covering the protests.
Pro-Palestine Belfast rally calls for the boycott of Israel-linked companies
Protesters urging a boycott of Israeli linked companies at the rally
Baby clothes used to symbolise the thousands of children killed so far in the war in Gaza
A rally in Belfast on Saturday heard calls for consumers to boycott companies with investments or links to Israel over the war in Gaza.
The call went out as 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.
Israeli flags stand on the top of destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
“We should follow the example of Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the US and different organisations around the world and divest from Israeli banks, Israeli companies,” one speaker told the crowd.
Speaking outside Erskine House, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mairead Maguire told the crowd what was happening to the people of Palestine amounted to a genocide.
“I beg to the young people, please read the history because the history of Palestine is the history of so many ethnic minority groups,” she said.
“It’s the history of Ireland, it’s the history all over the world…if we don’t wake up as ordinary people with the truth and say we are ashamed of what is happening in Palestine. We will not be silenced and we will speak forever about Palestine…today in Gaza, God forgive us, we stand back while Israel gets rid of the Palestinians in Gaza.
“Where is next? The West Bank? Lebanon? Aided by America, aided by the United Kingdom.”
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. Internet and phone service has been partially restored to the Gaza Strip, ending a telecommunications blackout that forced the United Nations to shut down critical humanitarian aid deliveries because it was unable to coordinate its convoys.
A protester holding a placard at the rally on Saturday
Israel has signalled plans to expand its offensive south while continuing operations in the north, including Gaza City, where troops were still searching the territory’s biggest hospital, Shifa, for traces of a Hamas command centre that Israel alleges was located under the building — a claim Hamas and the hospital staff deny.
In Khan Younis, an attack early yesterday hit Hamad City, a middle-class housing development built in recent years with funding from Qatar. In addition to the 26 people killed, another 20 were wounded, said Dr Nehad Taeima at Nasser Hospital.
Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has described Hamas as a “terrorist group” after repeatedly avoiding the term, as he wrote an article accusing the Israeli army of being guilty of “acts of terror too”.
The former Labour leader argued that the comparison was necessary because Israel is killing thousands of children in strikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’s wave of bloodshed. Mr Corbyn wrote in the left-wing Tribune magazine that “I deplore the targeting of all civilians”, including Hamas’s killing of around 1,200 people in Israel on October 7.
“If we understand terrorism to describe the indiscriminate killing of civilians, in breach of international law, then of course Hamas is a terrorist group,” he added.
“The targeting of hospitals, refugee camps and so-called safe zones by the Israeli army are acts of terror too; and the killing of more than 11,000 people, half of whom are children, cannot possibly be understood as acts of self-defence.
“We should not entertain questions from those who have no interest in applying this basic consistency.”
In his Tribune article, the Islington North MP urged political leaders to “desperately” learn the lesson of how “the endless cycle of violence for good” was broken in Northern Ireland to end the Troubles.
A protester at the Palestinian solidarity rally on Saturday
A child holding a placard at the rally in Belfast
Some of the crowd at Writer's Square in Belfast
Christopher Woodhouse
BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Thousands join pro-Palestinian rally in Dublin city
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that Ireland was pushing at EU and UN level for a ceasefire to be implemented.
By Grinne N. Aodha Protesters took part in a pro-Palestine rally in Dublin, demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict (PA) (PA Wire)
Thousands have marched through the streets of Dublin in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The protest began at the Garden of Remembrance and marched across the River Liffey, with demonstrators chanting: “In our thousands in our millions, we are all Palestinians”; “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, and: “Ceasefire now”.
At the Department of Foreign Affairs building, Iveagh House, the protesters took part in a sit-in.
The demonstration was organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and saw members of People Before Profit, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats, and Sinn Fein take part.
The march comes as 24 Irish citizens and dependants left Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Friday night, while other families with Irish passports landed in Dublin after fleeing the enclave in the days before.
There were emotional scenes as families were reunited, but those who had spent more than a month in the war-torn territory feared for their loved ones they had left behind.
In a statement to the PA news agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a total of 50 Irish citizens and dependants had left Gaza in recent days.
“Only small numbers of citizens or accompanying dependants who have expressed a wish to leave remain in Gaza,” it said.
“The department remains in contact in each case and will continue to work consistently with the relevant authorities to ensure they are able to leave Gaza as soon as possible.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that Ireland was “working really hard at EU level and UN level to put pressure on” a ceasefire to be implemented.
He said that a ceasefire would have to be adhered to by all sides in the conflict.
“We’re calling for a ceasefire so that the killing can stop, so that hostages can be released, so that we can get humanitarian aid in and then to begin, at some point, talks about peace again.”
He added: “Israel and Palestine came close to peace on at least three occasions in my lifetime. That may seem ridiculous now, but you can never give up hope for peace.
“And I think of leaders like Yitzhak Rabin, people who are willing to sacrifice their own lives in the battle for peace. And it’s that kind of leadership that we need again on both
sides.”
London protest for Palestine ends in arrests Demonstrators clash with police during sit-in at Waterloo train station
Zuhal Demirci |19.11.2023 - LONDON
Demonstrators at a train station sit-in to support Palestine clashed with London police Saturday, resulting in five arrests.
Protesters from the Now Ceasefire group gathered at Waterloo train station at 4 p.m. local time to initiate the sit-in.
Carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans such as "Free Palestine" and "From River to Sea, Palestine will be free," hundreds of demonstrators demanded an urgent cease-fire in Gaza.
Police surrounded demonstrators and distributed notices that said conducting a protest at the train station was illegal and requested that protesters leave the station.
Officials intervened when the group refused to end the protest which led to a skirmish.
Chaos ensues as police attempt to remove demonstrators
Some protesters were seen being dragged during the arrests.
As police attempted to clear demonstrators from the station after the protest, some protesters fell to the ground and appeared to struggle to breathe.
Israel launched airstrikes and later a ground incursion in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.
It has since killed more than 12,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, flattened thousands of civilian structures, and enforced a full blockade resulting in a shortage of supplies such as food, fuel and medicine.
The official Israeli death toll stands at around 1,200.
Israel-Gaza: Hundreds protest outside Labour leader's office
BBC 18th November 2023,
A demonstration outside Sir Keir Starmer's office was part of a day of action by Stop the War Coalition
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Labour leader's constituency office in north London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Crowds blocked a road in Camden and chanted "Keir Starmer's a wasteman".
It comes as groups held sit-in protests at several train stations across London.
The demonstrations were part of a day of national action organised by the Stop the War Coalition throughout the UK.
Protesters met outside Chalk Farm station before heading through Camden to Sir Keir's constituency office.
Once there, protesters held up signs with slogans such as "Stop the war on Gaza", "Starmer shame on you" and "Starmer, human rights lawyer? What a joke".
It comes after a vote in the House of Commons calling for a ceasefire in Gaza which saw 56 Labour MPs defy the party line to vote in favour of the motion.
At the event on Saturday, John Rees, national officer for the Stop the War Coalition, told crowds: "You saw what this movement did to Suella Braverman.
"Unless you get yourselves in line with the majority of people in this country who want an immediate ceasefire, this movement will do that to you Rishi Sunak, it will do that to you, Keir Starmer."
Nida Badawi told protesters: "Today we stand with the Palestinians"
The crowds also heard from 33-year-old Palestinian Nida Badawi. She told crowds: "For the past 40 days, over 40 days, I feel like my heart's been ripped out of my body.
"I'm just here to remind you while we're standing here, it's not the time to stay quiet. They need to hear our voices."
Station protests
Meanwhile sit-in demonstrations took place at various London railway stations, where British Transport Police (BTP) issued Section 14a orders prohibiting protests between 10:00 and 23:00.
Roughly 200 protesters arrived at London Bridge station at about 14:30 GMT and a police cordon was put in place around the station, but BTP later posted on X, formerly Twitter, to say the group had left the area and passengers could access the station as usual.
At Waterloo station, a group of about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters sat down on the concourse demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
BTP said: "Following engagement with protest liaison officers, protestors are refusing to leave Waterloo station as agreed. Therefore we are moving to arrest phase."
Protesters were removed from the station by officers, with at least two demonstrators carried from the scene.
A protest was also held in Tooting, south-west London, with the Metropolitan Police posting on X that officers worked together with the BTP and "made sure today's demonstration outside Tooting Broadway [station] ended without any incident".
Palestine supporters arrested at Waterloo 'sit in' amid dozens of marches, as demonstrators also target Starmer's office
18 November 2023
Protesters and police in Waterloo on Saturday. Picture: Alamy
Several pro-Palestine protesters were arrested on Saturday after staging a 'sit-in' at Waterloo Station, one of over 100 marches across the UK, which also included a demonstration outside Sir Keir Starmer's constituency office in north London.
Officers made ten arrests in total on Saturday, as pro-Palestine protesters launched series of smaller demonstrations on Saturday instead of the large marches that have taken place since Israel first responded to the Hamas attack on its people on October 7.
Offences include breach of bail conditions, public order, racially aggravated public order, inciting racial hatred, affray and obstruction.
Five of the arrests came in Waterloo as Palestine supporters and Just Stop Oil members sat on the floor of the central London station to demand a ceasefire. British Transport Police soon moved in to arrest them.
Officers said that no services had been disrupted, and that the protest had been moved outside the station. The protesters then sat on Westminster Bridge Road, before police moved them on again. They then walked to Parliament Square.
Among the other large protests was a march on Labour leader Sir Keir's office in Camden, as the Labour leader continued to resist calls for an end to the fighting - instead calling for pauses to allow aid into Gaza as Israel continues its siege.
Protesters also gathered outside Downing Street again, with that gathering becoming ugly later in the evening. A protest in south-east London saw two people arrested, while some demonstrators were seen clashing with police in Manchester.
Demonstrations also included events in Whitechapel in east London and Acton in west London, as well as several others outside the capital.
Police offiers detain a pro-Palestinian protester who took part in a sit-in demonstration at London's Waterloo Station calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Picture: Alamy
Outside the Labour leader's office, protesters in the road chanted "Keir Starmer's a wasteman" and "What do we want? A ceasefire. When do we want it? Now". Police were deployed to the constituency office.
Chants of "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" were also heard from the protesters, who were making their way from Chalk Farm.
Palestine demonstrators gather at Sir Keir Starmer's office
The chant has been heavily criticised for being anti-Semitic, and suggesting a genocide of Israelis whose state exists between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea.
The protest outside Sir Keir's office. Picture: Alamy
One man was seen to make explicitly anti-Semitic comments about Sir Keir's wife Victoria Alexander, who is Jewish.
The man said in a clip posted to social media: "His wife's a Zionist. His wife supports Israel and he'll go and support Israel, the little s***."
Sir Keir has said he feels worried about his family's safety amid the Israel-Hamas row.
He told the News Agents: "I’ve always been concerned about them. I’ve got a wife who has her own life and I need to ensure that she can live her life in the way that she wants to.
The protest outside Sir Keir's office. Picture: Alamy
"I’ve got two children: I've got a 15-year-old boy, and a 12-year-old girl. And my biggest concern – about the only concern I have going forward – is asking myself over and over again, particularly at the moment, how do I protect them as we go into this?"
Fiona Sharpe, of Labour against Anti-Semitism, said the display outside Sir Keir's Camden office was "appalling".
Ms Sharpe, who did not witness the display first hand, told LBC's Clare Foges: "People outside Keir Starmer’s office this afternoon are yelling and screaming about the fact that of course he should be kicked out of office".
She added that Jewish people in the UK were afraid to come to London, adding that she witnessed the start of the "quite frankly appalling demonstration in Camden" on Saturday afternoon.
Another protest took place in Lewisham in south-east London on Saturday. Police said that a 20-year-old woman was arrested for having an anti-Semitic sign, and a man who tried to stop officers making the arrest was arrested for obstruction.
Campaigners gathered outside Sir Keir's office. Picture: Alamy
The Israel-Hamas war has proved to be a serious challenge to Sir Keir, who saw ten frontbenchers - the most prominent being Jess Phillips - quit this week after he opposed an SNP bid to call for a ceasefire in the Commons.
Sir Keir has backed Israel's right to defend itself in the wake of Hamas's massacre on October 7.
But his refusal to support a total end to hostilities - something viewed by supporters of Israel's actions as unrealistic - has led to a clash within his party at a time when he is hoping to cruise to an election win.
Dr Amar Latif, an Oxford councillor, who resigned from the Labour party over Sir Keir's position on Gaza, said that "the only way to bring a long lasting peace to this region is through an immediate ceasefire".
He told LBC: "We need to be absolutely clear here that the difference between a humanitarian pause and and ceasefire humanitarian pause suggests that people are dying through a passive process. And of course, while some people are dying, because they can't access food, water, and fuel.
"There are significant numbers of people who are dying because there are bombs falling on them and a humanitarian pause, anything short of a ceasefire, doesn't stop that".
Palestine protesters gathered outside Sir Keir's office. Picture: Alamy
Big hitters including London mayor Sadiq Khan, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar have all called for a ceasefire.
A total of 56 Labour MPs backed the call in the Commons, and the frontbenchers who supported it had to quit the role and return to Labour's back benches.
Sir Keir said after the vote: "I regret that some colleagues felt unable to support the position tonight."
Hamas authorities in Gaza say more than 11,000 people have been killed since Israel launched Operation Iron Swords against the strip.
And there is outrage around the world at Israel's bombing, with questions now raised over whether a key Hamas centre will be uncovered at the Al Shifa hospital, which the Israel Defence Force has begun securing.
The hospital was hit as Benjamin Netanyahu's government insisted the complex was also being used by Hamas, which Israel has vowed to dismantle.
Besides Labour in-fighting, the war has had serious consequences for communities across the world.
The rate of anti-Semitic incidents across London has ballooned since the start of the war.
And the pro-Palestine marchers were accused of being hateful by the last home secretary, Suella Braverman, whose criticism of the policing of the demonstrations helped contribute to her sacking.
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