‘EVERY square inch of Palestine must be liberated,’ Palestinian born in Lebanon Sandra Wafta told News Line on Sunday as hundreds of people lined up for the March on Quds Day (Jerusalem Day).
‘The world will not be at peace until the Zionist entity is completely 100% dismantled,’ she continued, whilst waving a Hezbollah flag on a ten foot pole.
The demonstrators held up a sea of placards which read ‘Boycott Israel!’ Sandra Wafta added: ‘In Lebanon, every inch of the Golan Heights must be liberated. Hezbollah just won the recent elections in Lebanon. ‘We must be clear. We are for one state Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital, the right of return of all Palestinian refugees, compensation, restitution, all religions, living and working together in one Zionist free state.
‘Everyone must take action. There must be solidarity with the Palestinian state. ‘This means that trade unions in this country must take strike action, there must be total civil disobedience to kick this government out. ‘This government wine and dine war criminals. They invited Netanyahu, the Israeli leader over to Parliament. ‘The trade unions are central in this fight, they are very central, this has to come from the grass roots of society, there must be a boycott of Israel.
‘It is in this country, with the Balfour Declaration, where the British rulers handed Palestine over to the Zionists, it is here that the tragedy was authored. We need to take action here, more than anywhere else.’
The crowds shouted: ‘Long live Palestine! Long live Gaza! Victory to the intifada!’
While joining the protest Daniel Morgan said: ‘There are obvious reasons to demonstrate for Palestine, in the main occupation. ‘However there are specific massacres on the Gaza border.
‘I am here to show my solidarity with the Palestinian people. ‘It is all good coming to these protests but we have to do much more than this. ‘We must also be active at work and at home and avoid buying Israeli produce to put as much pressure as we can on Israel and its allies.
‘The British government must stop selling weapons to Israel. ‘The British rulers are responsible for what is going on at the moment, assisting Israel in what it continues to do, which is stealing land.
‘It is a travesty that the Balfour Declaration is still being celebrated by the government.’
Before the march left there were speeches from activists including Mick Napier from the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC). He told the crowds: ‘We are extremely concerned about the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, the killing of journalists, of children. ‘The British government has played a particularly dirty role. ‘While huge numbers of Palestinians have been killed, since 2010 the British government multiplied its sales of arms to Israel ten fold.
The British sell sniper parts, sniper parts to the Israelis! ‘Those sniper parts are used in the weapons which kill the children of Gaza. The latest massacre has plunged to new depths of horror.
‘While we witness true horror we also witness the true heroism and defiance of the Palestinians. We are inspired by the resistance of the Palestinian people.
‘Israeli leader Netanyahu is trying to cover up the slaughter in Gaza. Massacre and lies to cover it up, but the truth has come out. ‘The Argentinian football team was suppose to play Israel in Jerusalem. The reason Argentina cancelled is because of the stand of the Argentina people and government and because of the huge support for Palestine worldwide. ‘Northern Ireland is due to host a “friendly” match with Israel in September. It must cancel that match and we must ensure that they do.’
Naveed Mirza who joined the march said: ‘I am against Zionism and Imperialism. ‘We stand for the oppressed and against injustice and against any illegitimate powers used against men, women and children.
‘If you look at the map, historic Palestine is being occupied more and more by Israel. Everyone who stands up for humanity is against the atrocities carried out by the Israelis in Gaza where young children are being shot dead. Trade unions in this country must organise a boycott of all Israeli goods and services. If ignored they must strike to get their voices heard.’
Hassan Yazdi said: ‘I’ve come down to the Saudi Embassy to raise awareness about human rights violations in Palestine. ‘We have seen in recent weeks the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza killing over one hundred Palestinians and injuring thousands. ‘In general, although the Gaza issue has got so bad recently, the occupation of Palestine goes back to 1948 with the Nakba where 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled in a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
‘We start outside the Saudi Embassy because if you look from a regional perspective rather than supporting the Palestinians, right from the beginning the Saudi regime have done nothing to support. ‘Their lack of action is support for Israel. This is a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
‘The Saudis are just fighting for their own interests.’
On the march Heidi Khan said: ‘I support Palestine and the oppressed people of Palestine. I hate the oppressor. We have to be on the right side of history. ‘History will show that the world will recognise the Palestinian state. There is no such thing as a Jewish state. The occupation must be stopped immediately.
‘This government supports Zionism, they make ties with Israel, they benefit from selling arms to Israel, those arms are used to kill Palestinians. We need to kick this government out!
‘How dare the US move their embassy to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine. Long live Palestine!’
