The coalition shares the immense relief expressed by Palestinians at the ceasefire agreement that promises to stop the immediate catastrophic loss of life caused by Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Despite this agreement, Israel is continuing to kill Palestinians, and its government has not yet endorsed the deal. On Wednesday – the very day that the ceasefire was announced – Israel killed more than 80 Palestinians, 30 of them after the announcement. Many more could be killed in the coming days. This violence must end immediately.
Ending the bombing is only the start. Israel’s siege on Gaza must be immediately lifted to enable the flow of humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies. The ceasefire must be permanent.
The genocidal onslaught in Gaza is rooted in decades of oppression – ethnic cleansing, settler-colonisation, military occupation and apartheid against the Palestinian people. We will continue our campaigning until Israel’s system of apartheid is dismantled.
For all of these reasons, we will be protesting in London this Saturday.
Over the past week, the Metropolitan Police have imposed a series of repressive conditions to prevent us from protesting at the BBC as previously agreed. Last night, this reached the absurd point of the police announcing that our march would commence at Russell Square – something that we have never expressed any intention of doing. Grotesquely, the Board of Deputies put out a statement making clear that they had advised the police to impose this route. We decide where we protest, not pro-Israel organisations.
The police have now accepted that they cannot force us to go to Russell Square.
We will assemble on Whitehall at 12 noon. We reiterate our call for the police to lift the repressive restrictions and allow us to march. If they continue to refuse to do so and prevent us from marching, we will be rallying on Whitehall in protest.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestinian Forum in Britain
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Stop the War Coalition
Muslim Association of Britain
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament