SHAFAQNA-
Ten thousand people or more converged on London this weekend to mark this year’s Al-Quds Day demonstration in support of the beleaguered Palestinians. The demonstration went ahead despite an unprecedented demonization campaign by far right and pro-Zionist groups determined to undermine and disrupt the event. An international array of speakers and protesters assembled outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Charles Street in preparation for a march through the busy streets of central London. The Saudi Arabian embassy was, this year, selected as a rallying point because of Riyadh’s growing support for the Zionist regime which has had the effect of isolating the Palestinians and giving Israel the green light to accelerate its injustices.
Al Quds Day Committee, the organizers of the rally, said “Numbers were larger this year as people registered a clear gesture of defiance to the British Zionist and right wing demonization campaign who had gone into overdrive in trying to get the march banned. They too turned up in a failed attempt to disrupt the peaceful pro Palestinian demonstrators inspite of the extraordinary leniency shown by British Police to the abusive efforts of the Zionists and their racist fascist colleagues who paraded banners such as “Make Britain Great”. These Zionist and far right extremists called in the notorious football hooligans, Chelsea Headhunters, who have put out a call on social media for people to attend the counter demo and a call to “Ban Islam”. Only the day before tens of thousands of these thugs assaulted police, outside the British Prime Ministers residence in 10 Downing Street, as they vented their fury at the imprisonment of the Zionist and far right, anti-Muslim activist, Tommy Robinson.
This years demonstration was made even more poignant as ongoing murders by Israeli troops, of innocent Palestinian protesters. continues unabated in the Gaza Strip commemorating 70 years since Israel was formed on expropriated Palestinian land. Rabbi Aaron Cohen, led the march with dozens of Muslim Ulama and many of the Jewish Naturo Kartei fraternity who oppose Zionist occupation of Palestine on religious grounds. Rabbi Cohen said ” we are expressing solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine who are unjustly being tortured and killed by the tyrannical regime occupying Palestine.” These Jewish attendees of the Al Quds demonstration were intimidated abused and threatened at the end of the march by Zionists who were furious at the N.K’s exposure of Zionisms politicization and hijacking of authentic Judaism.
Last year a similar demonization campaign radicalized Darren Osborne into driving a truck into Muslim worshipers in London’s Finsbury Park killing a Muslim man. His intended target had been the Al-Quds Day rally which he was only prevented from reaching due to robust police security measures. Al-Quds Day has been a fixture in the capital for over 30 years the annual event is a general show of solidarity drawing in people of all faiths and political persuasions. This year’s London event again featured people of all political and religious persuasions including Jews from Israel, Christians and Muslims. The rally also featured a record-breaking Palestinian flag being paraded through the streets. At 70 meters long it is the largest ever Palestinian flag ever to be made with its length signifying the duration of the crippling Israeli occupation.
With much of the world’s attention deflected by other conflicts in the Middle East, the Zionist regime has continued its relentless policy of settlement building, confiscating and isolating Palestinian lands and restricting Palestinians’ movement and access to the necessities of daily life such as water and medical care. Resistance to the occupation has been met with bullets – hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the last year.
The Gaza Strip remains effectively blockaded by Israel on one side and the Egyptian military regime on the other. The siege has crippled the economy with 41% of people out of work, higher than any other economy in the world, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Youth unemployment is believed to be 60%. Some 80% of inhabitants are dependent on external aid to survive.
IHRC chairman Massoud Shadjareh said: “The high turnout at this years Al Quds rally is an indication of the strength of support there is for the Palestinian cause. No matter how much pressure is applied and from whatever sources we will never abandon the Palestinians and their right to resist injustice.”
