Large crowds in London protest Israel’s ’apartheid policies’
A mass rally was held in central London on Sunday to protest Israel's "apartheid policies" against Palestinians.
Crowds gathered outside the Home Office carrying signs expressing solidarity with Palestinians bearing slogans including "Freedom for Palestine," "Boycott Apartheid" and "Stop Killing Palestinians," Anadolu Agency reported.
Some Orthodox Jews were among those attending the protest, organized by the Justice for Palestine Committee to mark International Quds Day, which is observed every year on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
Raising Palestinian flags, the protesters marched towards Downing Street which houses British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Office.
"Free Palestine!" was among the slogans chanted by the group with Palestinian flags.
The demonstrators denounced the continued Israeli occupation of Palestine and relentless atrocities against Palestinians in the occupied territories, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, while calling for an end to the Israeli occupation.
New arrests
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.
The regime forces arrested at least twenty Palestinians, including children, during raids in the West Bank and Al-Quds.
Palestine’s official Wafa news agency, citing local sources, reported that Israeli troops arrested three children – identified as Musa, Fo'ad and Omar Jibril – after raiding their family home in the Silwan neighborhood of Al-Quds on Sunday.
Israeli forces detained at least three other Palestinians in the occupied East Al-Quds neighborhood of al-Tur, while another six were arrested after the regime’s troops stormed their houses in the occupied Old City of al-Quds.
Six other Palestinians were also arrested after the occupying regime forces attacked their house in the West Bank village of Husan, west of Bethlehem.
Local and international rights groups have condemned Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against Palestinians.
On Friday, millions of people have attended Quds Day rallies across Iran and other Muslim countries to show their solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people and condemn Israeli atrocities.
Strong condemnation
Speaking at the London protest, Stephen Sizer, the founder and director of the Peacemaker Trust, strongly condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Press TV reported.
He stressed that the Israeli military occupation is “based on segregation, on supremacism, [and] on apartheid”, adding that it is “a colonization that involves a systematic, premeditated, ethnic cleansing in breach of international law, Geneva conventions, and UN resolutions.”
Sizer expressed hope that Al-Quds would become “a city of equality, a city of tolerance, a city of mutual respect, [and] a city of justice, peace and reconciliation, not just for Palestine, but as a model and an inspiration for the entire world.”
Many other human other activists also speak at the protest, urging the international community to take serious note of Israeli regime's atrocities.