On Saturday 8 June hundreds of thousands of people are expected to demonstrate on the 15th march for Palestine in London since Israel began its genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023. This time the march takes place in the midst of the UK general election, in which millions of people who support justice for the Palestinian people will be carefully weighing up the voting records and policies of candidates from all parties:
🚨 Assembly point confirmed – National march for Palestine
📍 Russel Square, London
⏰ Saturday, 8 June, 12:30PMJoin us for this on Saturday. With the general election looming, lets show all political parties that they must act to #StopGazaGenocide if they want our vote. pic.twitter.com/h9VNq0ZQVU
— PSC (@PSCupdates) June 4, 2024
Putting Israel and Palestine on the general election map
Israel’s prolonged and brutal attack on Gaza, judged by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to be a plausible case of genocide, has killed more than 36,000 people, with thousands more missing, presumed dead. Earlier this week an Israeli bombing of an UNRWA school killed at least 40 people including children.
Israel has severely restricted humanitarian supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip in violation of international law. UN agencies have warned this week that one million people face the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
Despite this, the British government has refused even to halt arms exports to Israel or to restore funding to UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the only agency on the ground capable of providing aid at scale.
The demonstration on Saturday will be attended by a range of groups, including large student, trade union, medical worker, and Jewish blocs. Speakers will include Chris Smalls (President of the Amazon Labor Union, America), Michael Rosen (poet and author), Juliet Stevenson (actress), and George the Poet (writer and podcaster).
Political leaders must act
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) director, said :
The massacre this week at a school in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, is another horrifying chapter in Israel’s genocide. The failure of political leaders in the UK to condemn it or even comment, demonstrates the extent to which the political establishment is prepared to normalise Israel’s massacres.
But the extent of popular protest against this complicity is growing not diminishing. This election will see the issue of justice for the Palestinian people on the election agenda like never before. PSC will be issuing its election demands of candidates next week. Tomorrow, we expect again to be joined by hundreds of thousands bringing that call for change and an end to UK complicity in Israel’s crimes, once more to London’s streets.
The Jeremy Corbyn-founded Peace and Justice Project said:
Gaza is now home to the highest number of child amputees in the world, a devastating consequence of the ongoing conflict. This grim reality underscores the urgent need for an immediate, permanent ceasefire.
This demonstration is particularly significant as it will be the first since the general election was called. It presents a crucial opportunity to demand that our leaders prioritise peace and end arms sales to Israel that perpetuate this cycle of violence.
Join us to raise our voices and call on our political leaders to act. The demonstration will be a powerful statement of our collective demand for a ceasefire and an end to the arms sales that perpetuate this cycle of violence.
Featured image via the Canary
