Pro-Palestine demonstrators chant ‘shame on you’ outside Labour Party headquarters to condemn its stance on Israel-Hamas war
- Protesters said Starmer had failed to recognise ‘war crimes committed by Israel’
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanted ‘shame on you’ as they protested outside the Labour Party’s headquarters to condemn its stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The group shouted: ‘Labour Party blood on your hands’ and ‘no more money for Israel’s crimes ‘as they took part in the event organised by London Palestine Action.
TFL buses, taxis and ordinary drivers beeped their horns in support of the demonstrators.
Protesters expressed disappointment that Sir Keir Starmer failed to recognise ‘international war crimes committed by Israel’.
It comes after the Labour leader had appeared to suggest that Israel has ‘the right’ to withhold energy and water from Gaza in an interview with LBC in the wake of Hamas launching a murderous assault on Israeli civilians.
The group shouted: ‘ Labour Party blood on your hands’ and ‘no more money for Israel’s crimes ‘as they took part in the event organised by London Palestine Action
Ezra, 30, from London , who is Jewish, was among the protestors – and accused Sir Keir of exploiting antisemitism for ‘personal and political gain’
Protesters expressed disappointment that Sir Keir Starmer failed to recognise ‘international war crimes committed by Israel’
But Sir Keir argued on Friday that he had intended to say that Israel has the right to defend itself and retrieve the around 200 hostages being held ‘within international law’.
A number of the party’s councillors have resigned over what they perceived as ‘horrifying’ comments that he was ‘endorsing a war crime’.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer faces rebellion over Gaza as almost 30 Labour MPs (and ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn) demand immediate ceasefire – but leader’s spokesman says Israel has a right to rescue hostages held by Hamas terrorists
Ezra, 30, from London, who is Jewish, accused Sir Keir of exploiting antisemitism for ‘personal and political gain’.
She said: ‘He has tried very hard recently to put out some statements to appease people but we see right through him.
‘He can’t undo the damage he’s done already, he can’t undo the licence he has given Israel to commit war crimes and the damage he has done within the Jewish community.’
On Wednesday Starmer distanced himself from a group of almost 30 of his backbenchers who are demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The group, mainly made up of supporters of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, are among more than 40 MPs voicing ‘deep alarm at the Israeli military bombardment and total siege of Gaza’.
The MPs signed an early day motion – a non-binding way MPs can show their feelings on a particular issue – demanding an immediate end to the conflict that has engulfed the Palestinian enclave.
Shadia Zai, a 35-year-old member of London Palestine Action and a resident of Sir Keir’s constituency Holborn and St Pancras, criticised the ‘horrific rhetoric’ of the Labour Party regarding the conflict.
All protesters interviewed stated they had ‘lost confidence’ in the Labour Party and would not vote for them in the upcoming general election
It comes days after Starmer distanced himself from a group of almost 30 of his backbenchers who are demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Ms Zai, a Palestinian who has family in the West Bank, said they were under threat from ‘Israeli settler violence’.
READ MORE: Furious Palestine supporters continue tearing down posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in latest UK confrontations caught on camera – with one telling filmers to ‘f*** off’ while another says ‘go cry’
She continued: ‘We’re really concerned that the leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer (and) David Lammy who is shadow foreign secretary have both sought to endorse and justify Israel’s military action.’
‘What we are saying is the Labour Party needs to be at the forefront… making calls for an immediate ceasefire, to stop the bombing and call for the UK to stop arming Israel.’
All protesters interviewed stated they had ‘lost confidence’ in the Labour Party and would not vote for them in the upcoming general election.
Blk Moody, 29, from London, said: ‘I’ve always been with Labour but this is where I draw the line because at the moment Labour is the same as the Tories – there’s no difference between them.
‘I won’t be voting for them anymore. Their hands are covered in blood and it is hiding behind antisemitism to justify genocide.’
Zad El Bacha, a 27-year-old from London, stated that she would only vote for Labour if the party changed its position on Israel and called for a ceasefire.
Protesters also held a placard labelled ‘from river to sea Palestine will be free,’ a slogan that Home Secretary Suella Braverman said on social media was a ‘demand for the destruction of Israel’ and a ‘staple of antisemitic discourse’.
Ezra claimed the slogan promotes anti-Zionism, not antisemitism.
She said: ‘Anti-Zionism is a legitimate political position for anyone to hold and many Jewish people have always been anti-Zionist since the first conception of Zionism.’
Other pro-Palestinian protests took place across the country today, including Manchester, Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Machynlleth, Bridgend, Oxford and Sheffield.
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