‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!’ chanted thousands of protesters marching in London from the Home Office to a rally near Downing Street on Sunday to protest against the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The annual Al-Quds Day rally was taking place as one of the most extremist governments ever seen in Israel wages a largely unreported war against Palestinians under its control.
Since the turn of the year around 100 Palestinians have been killed, with many more injured and hundreds detained, as they resist attempts by the Israeli state to impose a still more brutal occupation regime.
One of the protesters Afghan refugee Obaidullah Amiry told News Line: ‘We Muslims want justice for our Palestinian brothers. We don’t respect the geographic borders imposed by the West. We don’t have any borders for our religion. Israel is killing innocent Palestinians in their own land.
‘Al-Aqsa belongs to Muslims, to Palestinians. When they attack worshippers at the mosque, they are attacking their rights. Israel is scared of the unity of Muslims. The police should protect the people, not attack the people and defend the settlers.’
A young speaker at the rally, student Ibrahim Essad condemned the UK Tory government, urging the crowd to repeat: ‘Shame on you Rishi Sunak!’ for entertaining Israeli PM Netanyahu, and Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman for her support for Israel.
Ibrahim continued: ‘Palestinians living in Israel, when they attack Al Quds, they attack you – all Palestinians. When Israel attacks Palestinian worshippers, they are attacking us in our worshipping.’
Student protester Maryam told News Line: ‘What the Israelis are doing is inhuman. It’s ethnic cleansing. It’s an offence against Islam as well with the constant attacks on the mosque and on Muslims. They are attacking Palestinians in Lebanon and Syria as well as Palestine.
‘British workers should boycott Israel and the companies that produce for Israel here in the UK. We should bring the Tory government down over its support for Israel. We need a government that is for the working people and that supports Palestine.’
Construction worker Ali Rathis said: ‘I’ve come to protest for Al Quds Day for Palestine. I come every year. We demonstrate to allow the voice of the Palestinians to be heard and to end the apartheid regime of Israel.
‘It’s horrendous what they are doing now and what they have been doing for decades. It’s a crime against humanity. We want to see the liberation of the Palestinian people. The British public should be boycotting Israel.
‘The West are supporting their puppet in Ukraine. At the same time it is supporting a fascist regime in Israel attacking the rights of the Palestinian people.
‘We are not against Jews or Judaism as evidenced with the attendance of the Jewish rabbis here tonight. We are against Zionism, a political movement which terrorises a civilian population.’
One young woman, Huda declared to the rally that Israel is a terrorist state, saying: ‘I define a terrorist state as one that murders innocent children! Free, free Palestine. Yasser Arafat stood with the black people of South Africa when no-one else would. I’m standing with you.’
One of the protesters, Ali, a computer company worker, told News Line: ‘I’m here to protest for freedom for Palestinians. Al Quds Day is important because Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine. It’s also the idea of liberation from oppression. The working people of the world should stand up for the Palestinians, 100 per cent.
‘We need more effective tools. Strikes are a consideration. Having strikes will mean people have no choice but to acknowledge what is going on in Palestine. I agree with a general strike to bring down this Tory government that supports Israel, and having a workers government that will recognise the state of Palestine – only a one-state solution.’
Meanwhile, in Occupied Palestine, Israeli forces arrested at least twenty Palestinians on Sunday morning, including children, during raids in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (al-Quds).
They seized three children – identified as Musa, Fo’ad and Omar Jibril – after raiding their family home in the Silwan neighbourhood of Jerusalem.
Israeli forces also detained at least three other Palestinians in the occupied East al-Quds neighbourhood of al-Tur, while another six were arrested when the regime’s troops stormed their homes in the occupied Old City.
And six other Palestinians were arrested when their home in the West Bank village of Husan, near Bethlehem was attacked.
Israeli troops also seized a Palestinian from the village of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem, in the regime’s latest violence against Palestinian worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in al-Quds (Jerusalem).
In the West Bank city of Qalqilya, Israeli forces also arrested one Palestinian during a raid.
Over the past months, Israel has increased attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories, and dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested as a result.
Most of the raids have focused on Nablus and Jenin, where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian resistance against occupation.
Human rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and ‘shoot-to-kill policy’ against Palestinians.
Since the start of Ramadan, the Israeli regime has imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque.
On April 4th, armed Israeli forces stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound firing tear gas and stun grenades into the Qibli prayer hall where hundreds of men, women and children were staying overnight to pray.
Eyewitnesses said rubber-coated steel bullets were also fired.
Israeli forces have wounded and rounded up hundreds of Palestinians during these attacks.
Illegal Israeli settlers have been freely violating the compound under the Israeli military and police force’s protection.
Every year on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, worldwide rallies are held to commemorate the Palestinian people’s resistance against Israel in what is referred to as Al-Quds Day.
The annual event is an opportunity for people across the world to voice their support for the Palestinian cause.
Since the start of Ramadan, the Israeli regime has imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Amid heightened tensions with Palestinian worshippers, Israeli settlers however went ahead with their frequent incursions and provocative rituals at the holy site.
On April 6th, at least 30 rockets were launched from southern Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied territories in retaliation against the Israeli aggression against al-Aqsa.
Resistance fighters based in Gaza also fired several rockets toward the occupied territories.
The regime’s Iron Dome failed to intercept most of these retaliatory rockets.
Following the rocket attack, Israeli warplanes hit targets inside Gaza and positions of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Lebanon.
