Jamal called on the British government to end its “complicity in Israel’s crimes,” and work to stop the killing of civilians…reports Asian Lite News
Tens of thousands of people joined a pro-Palestinian march on Saturday in the British capital to demand a full ceasefire in Gaza, organizers said.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said that marchers were voicing opposition “to the indiscriminate attacks on civilians which have claimed the lives of at least 17,000 Palestinians, including more than 7,000 children.”
People from across the UK gathered in central London for the ninth Saturday in a row after Israel launched its assault on Gaza.
“This has been one of the largest, sustained political campaigns in British history,” PSC, one of the six organizers of the march, said. It added that on Nov. 25 more than 300,000 people marched in London, while last Saturday there were more than 100 events across the UK in a third “day of action.”
Speakers at Saturday’s rally included MPs, trade union leaders, and representatives from a wide range of civil society organizations.
Ben Jamal, PSC director, said: “We are witnessing unrelenting horror in Gaza. Palestinians have been bombed, displaced, and deprived of food, water, fuel, electricity and health services for 62 days and counting.
“The amount of destruction has been compared to that of German cities in the Second World War, except it’s happened in a far shorter time.” He said a permanent ceasefire must be the starting point to address the underlying causes of the situation, including “decades of Israeli military occupation, and a system of oppression against the Palestinian people that is considered internationally to meet the legal definition of apartheid.”
Jamal called on the British government to end its “complicity in Israel’s crimes,” and work to stop the killing of civilians.
He condemned UK political leaders who have failed to call for a ceasefire. “We will continue to march, demonstrate, and organize to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and justice for the Palestinian people,” he said.
Meanwhile, police in London announced that they arrested 13 people on Saturday mostly for offensive signage, they said in a statement following the rally.
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