By Aysu Bicer
LONDON (AA) - London is set for another mass protest on Saturday as demonstrators take to the streets to mark the 20th national March for Palestine, calling for an immediate end to UK arms sales to Israel.
The protests, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and supported by groups like Stop the War, Friends of Al-Aqsa, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and the Muslim Association of Britain, come amid escalating violence in Gaza following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's resurgence in October 2023.
Ben Jamal, director of the campaign and a key figure in the UK’s pro-Palestinian movement, stressed that demonstrations would continue until the British government takes decisive action against Israel.
"We’re marching to mark one year of what the world’s highest court has accepted as a plausible case of genocide," he said. "One year of struggle to end the genocide. We will not stop, we will not rest," he added, calling for an arms embargo on Israel.
The marches have gained renewed urgency as calls grow louder for the UK to halt arms exports to Israel. Since a year ago, protests have regularly taken place in cities across the country in response to Israel's military actions in Gaza, which followed Hamas’ attack on Israel last Oct. 7.
- 'Israeli government completely out of control'
Former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf also joined the rallying cry, appearing for the first time at one of the massive London demonstrations.
In a speech, Yousaf condemned the UK government for continuing to approve arms sales to Israel, despite a widespread outcry over civilian casualties in Gaza. "The Israeli government is completely out of control," he said.
"And yet, what is the UK government's response? Shamefully, 90% of arms export licenses are continuing. Shame on the UK government. We demand an end to arms sales, and we demand that end now."
Yousaf also took aim at Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of a double standard.
"This week, Keir Starmer stood behind his Number 10 (official) podium and gave a prime minister’s address to the nation when Iranian missiles landed in Israel. But where was your address when the children of Gaza were being slaughtered by the day? Where is your address when Israel, with the arms that we supply them, is bombing hospitals, schools, refugee camps, and UN facilities?" he asked.
For the demonstrators and organizers, the UK’s ongoing arms trade with Israel amounts to complicity in the violence. "Some have said to me (that) the disregard of Palestinian lives is hypocrisy," Yousaf continued. "My friends, it’s far worse than that. It’s downright bloody racism."
As protests gain momentum, organizers like Jamal suggest that future demonstrations may become more frequent if Israel continues to receive what he describes as "impunity" from the international community.
"We will keep marching until we see an end to the genocide," he said.
Saturday’s march is set to begin at Russell Square in Bloomsbury, London, and organizers expect large crowds to turn out in solidarity with Palestine, following the trend of growing support for the cause over the past year.
The demonstrations underscore growing frustration within sectors of the UK public who feel the government has failed to address what they see as a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its relentless offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.
In the year since, more than 41,800 people have since been killed, most of them women and children, and nearly 97,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.