THE first speaker at the rally in Kensington High Street at the end of the march was Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, who said: ‘The difference in the value of human life globally and Palestinian lives is clear for all to see.
‘The ban on 10% of arms to Israel is too little and too late. 10% is simply not enough. All arms must be stopped. Also, there must be a complete immediate and unconditional recognition of the state of Palestine.’
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: ‘We back the campaign of boycotts and divestment. The atrocities of Israel’s Gaza onslaught must be halted. We want action not just empty words.
‘They are engaged in ethnic cleansing, a war crime. There is no moral or legal case not to ban all arm sales. Where is the full arms embargo? Where are the sanctions? Where is the expulsion of Israeli diplomats? Now unions have to speak out and campaign.’
Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot said: ‘We’ve seen 11 months of war crimes, 11 months of mass murder, 11 months of destruction, 11 months of genocide.
‘It is not just the last 11 months however, it is the last 76 years. Israel has never been held to account and that is why the genocide is now spreading from Gaza to the West Bank.
‘Israel’s one plan is the complete erasure of the Palestinian people. Its sole vision is of constant violence, murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
‘But for 76 years Israel has failed. It has failed to wipe us out and it will continue to fail. Despite the horrors of the Gaza genocide we remain! We remain! Israel will not succeed!
‘We are also supported by the law. The International Court of Justice ruling says we have the right to self-defence, not the occupier!
‘Every country that supports the occupier is complicit. We demand a complete arms embargo now and we demand recognition of the Palestinian state now!’
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘625,000 children in Gaza have been denied their inalienable right to education.
‘Scholasticide has taken place. 16,000 children have been killed. 400 teachers have been killed. Schools have been targeted. All 12 of Gaza’s universities have been targeted by Israeli bombs.
‘The UK must now ban all arms sales. My union, the NEU will continue to stand up for Palestine.’
Sophie Bolt from CND said: ‘Israel is a nuclear armed state waging genocide against Palestine.
‘Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been forced to concede that Israel is violating international law. Now we have to redouble our efforts to ensure a total ban on the sale of arms to Israel.
‘Keep up the pressure to force this government to cease supporting genocide.’
Shabbir Lakha, from Stop the War, said: ‘This week the British government admitted what we all knew already, that UK weapons to Israel are illegal. Lammy said this is not an armed embargo – well why the bloody hell not?
‘We now have five independent pro-Palestine MPs. The only black hole, Keir Starmer, is in your humanity. It is on the streets that we will break British imperialism and expel the Israeli ambassador.’
Ismail Patel from Friends of Al-Aqsa, said: ‘Dehumanisation by Israel and its allies has created a narrative where Palestinian lives do not matter. Palestinians yearn for justice and freedom. Israel dehumanises.
‘It is our responsibility to reverse this from the river to the sea. From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free means that all people of all faiths can live in Palestine.
‘Let this slogan be heard around the world. From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free. From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free!’
John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, said: ‘26-year-old Turkish American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed on Friday, shot in the head. She was taken to the hospital in Nablas and died. She sacrificed her life for the Palestinian people.
‘We must bring Netanyahu to justice, and all war criminals.’
Iqbal Mohamed, independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, said: ‘It’s been 11 long months since the genocide on Gaza began. It’s been allowed to happen with impunity.
‘We demand the Labour government publishes the legal advice on arms to Israel. They have finally restored funding to UNRWA.
‘The suspension of 30 arms contracts is insufficient. The government must end all arms sales to Israel, now! We will continue to fight for a state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.’
‘The people’s Choice for Ilford North’ was how Leanne Mohamad was introduced, after she came within a whisker of toppling Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting in the General Election, losing to him by just 528 votes.
She said: ‘Keir Starmer, David Lammy, how much longer will you support the practitioners of genocide? We all know that you do. You aid them. You are Israel and Israel is you.
‘Lammy, we see through your pathetic “arms embargo” You think we will be fooled by this so-called ban. You have sold your soul Lammy to a racist regime.
‘This is not a Labour Party, it is another Tory Party. Make this past year, the year to mark an end to genocide. We have to wipe away this facade of a political establishment.’
Faris Ahmad, from the Palestine Forum in Britain said: ‘Gaza has exposed our democracies. F-35 war planes are still raining hell fire on Gaza. This government is to blame.
‘Eleven months in and every day the genocide gets worse. Every single person involved belongs behind bars, not just Netanyahu, but Starmer and Sunak, Biden and Harris.
‘In each of us is the power to move mountains. Use that power and we will see Palestine, from the river to the sea.’
Raghad Altikriti, from the Muslim Association of Britain, said: ‘They suspended only 30 out of 350 arms licences, fuelling the slaughter. How many more bodies need to pile up before Starmer feels the full weight of his support for genocide?
‘Israel must be sanctioned, boycotted in every way until the genocide ends.’
Emily Stephenson, from the Jewish Bloc, said: ‘Aysenur, the Turkish heroine, was killed yesterday, shot in the head by a sniper for asking Israel to stop committing genocide.
‘Occupiers, murderers, terrorists! These are dark times. They are times for people to take action into their own hands. It’s hard to see the future but we have to have hope and we know we will win.’
Jess Barnard, Labour NEC member, said: ‘We must hold the people in my party to account for complicity in genocide. Our country is complicit.
‘Now is the time to ramp up the pressure on the new Labour government. We have won a partial suspension, now we have to win a total ban.
‘Now is the time to speak out against Starmer. Keir Starmer you will see – Palestine will be free!’
Myriam Francois, journalist and filmmaker, said: ‘Britain is responsible for gross and blatant violations of international law.
‘Journalists and health workers have been killed in such numbers and with such impunity, with the backing of Britain and America.
‘The ethnic cleansing of Gaza was the pretext. Thousands languish in torture camps as we speak.
‘We must act with the force of history – resistance is the answer. We say to Palestine, freedom is coming! Freedom has to be fought for – it is never handed to you. No change comes without courage. Power to the people! Free Palestine!’
Final speaker, Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: ‘All week we have faced attempts by the Metropolitan Police to put restrictions on where this march would take place, but we stood strong and the police backed down.
‘We have now seen 11 months of genocide we have to ramp up the pressure on Keir Starmer. We have to achieve a full arms embargo.
‘On October 12th, anniversary of the start of the genocide, we will be back here and we want to make it a million-strong march.
‘It’s up to you fight to do so. We must be a million-strong when we’re back in London next month.’
