‘FREE, free Palestine! Occupation no more! Israel is a terror state!’ chanted workers and youth at a 3,000-strong protest outside the Israeli embassy in West London on Saturday.
The demonstration was called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign against collective punishment of Palestinians in the wake of the deaths of three Israeli settler youth, including the abduction and murder of an innocent 17-year-old Palestinian boy.
Israeli jets and artillery have bombarded Gaza, hundreds have been arrested and at least six Palestinians have been killed by Zionist forces in the past fortnight.
News Line spoke to several of the protesters.
Bilal Khan, 16, from north London said: ‘We are here to support the Palestinians and to tell people what is really going on because they don’t tell the truth on TV.
‘Israel is taking over Palestinians’ land through mass violence and selling produce that Palestinians originally made. I want the occupation to end. There needs to be another Intifada.
‘The Israelis abducted and burned a 17-year-old Palestinian as revenge for the three Israelis that were killed. The Zionists are to blame for the violence. They get greedy.
‘Palestinians are not against Jews, they are against Zionism and its hatred towards Palestinians. British workers should boycott Israeli produce.’
Bilal’s friend Farhan, 16, from Victoria, added: ‘I feel for the Palestinians because their land has been stolen and their rights have been violated since 1948.
‘For the public here, the best thing to do is protest and boycott Israeli products. The public should call on the British government to stop supporting Israel.’
Wasim Aslam, a cab driver from Watford, said: ‘The murder of the Palestinian teenager by Israeli settlers was a revenge attack for the three Israeli teenagers. It’s pure evil. The Israelis should leave Palestine because of the crimes they’ve committed. The Zionist state is illegally occupying Palestine.
‘British trade unions should boycott Israeli goods. We should put more pressure on the UK government to end its friendship with Israel.’
Brighton University student Xavier Tallboys said: ‘I’m here to protest against the Israeli state. They don’t obey international law. I support the Palestinians. I was there recently and could see the way they are treated. You can see the segregation, you can see the wall.
‘I also went to Hebron where Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens with a settlement in the middle of Hebron. Shops were closed, people had to move out of their houses.
‘The media coverage is really poor. You have heard about the Israeli deaths but there were 14 Palestinians killed at the same time and 300 went in prison. I hope things don’t go too badly but I can see a new Intifada is possible.’
Unison member Michael Cole from north London told News Line: ‘I’m against the way the Israeli government treats the Palestinians. They’re basically in an open prison. They’re under curfew. There are all those checkpoints, there is no freedom of movement for Palestinians.
‘Every time there’s a Palestinian attack and an Israeli gets killed, there’s a complete over-reaction by the Israeli state. There’s a collective action against the Palestinians by the Israeli government now over the three teenagers that were killed. It’s totally over the top.’
East London student Shishu Miah, 24, added: ‘I’m protesting against the Israeli crimes – the stealing of land, the oppression of the Palestinians.
‘With the recent events that happened, the whole of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are being scapegoated. It’s collective punishment. We in Britain should boycott Israeli products. There should be an academic and cultural boycott.
‘The trade unions should take strike action against the Cameron government over its support for Israel. The UK government should stop its military support for Israel. It looks like there will be another Intifada. Whatever happens it will be the Israelis’ fault. They’ve been oppressing the Palestinians for over 60 years.’
A young woman, Amanda said: ‘I’m here because Israel is collectively punishing the Palestinians.
‘It looks as though they are trying to undermine the recent unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah.
‘The British government should impose sanctions on Israel until the occupation is ended and collective punishment is ended. Everybody should boycott Israel.’
