Thousands Protest in UK, Urge End to Israel Arms

(MENAFN) Thousands of demonstrators converged on 10 Downing Street Friday, under the rallying cry "Emergency Protest – Stop Arming Israel – Words Are Not Enough," to pressure the UK government to cease all arms exports to Israel. The demonstration also called for immediate, tangible action in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), the protest follows what has been characterized as the UK's strongest official condemnation of Israeli actions to date. Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly described Israel's offensive in Gaza as "egregious" and the suffering of Palestinians as "abominable."

However, for those on the streets, these condemnations fall short. Protesters carried signs emblazoned with messages such as "Children are being killed in Gaza," "Schools and hospitals are being bombed," and "Stop arming Israel."

Addressing the crowd, John Rees, a British political activist, academic, and journalist, asserted, "Starmer has lost this country on the question of Palestine." He continued, “Before this statement was issued, I knew that Starmer was a hypocrite. I knew that Lammy was a liar, and after this statement is issued, I still think that Starmer is a hypocrite, but Lammy is a liar. We demand that they turn those words into action. Stop arming Israel. They would not have said those words, they would not have had a complete collapse of their position unless we had stayed on the streets week after week, month after month, and year after year. Now in defense of Palestine, the question now is, can we do more?”

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