Gaza solidarity

Over 15 Gaza solidarity camps (or ‘encampments’) have sprung up around the UK, following the example of those at more than 140 universities in the US which have often been met with police violence and mass arrests. Here in the UK, after occupations of two Bristol university buildings were forced to end in late March and early April (because of the threat of legal action), students began an encampment on 1 May. The focus, as elsewhere, is on getting institutions to break ties with companies…

On 25 April, Chris Cole and Virginia Moffat went on trial at City of London magistrates court as a result of their action on 29 December at Downing Street protesting against the UK government for being ‘complicit with this slaughter’ in Gaza (PN 2670). They had poured red poster paint on the gates and made bloody handprints, and read the names of children killed by Israel and Hamas.

The two Christian peace activists were found guilty of criminal damage despite making legal as…

Student activism on Gaza has transformed the debate in the US and has grown enormously in the UK.

The first ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’, or tent occupation, was at Columbia university in New York City on 17 April.

It lasted until 4 May, when police cleared tents off the campus lawn for the second time, arresting dozens of people.

The protest was organised by a coalition of 116 student groups: ‘Columbia University Apartheid Divest’. Their main demand was that the…

Owain Parry, Thomas Bell and Mark Redfern carried out a 14-hour rooftop occupation of the Solvay factory in Wrexham, Wales, in November 2021 (the action was co-ordinated by Palestine Action). They accused Solvay of manufacturing components for the Israeli military.

This was admitted by the company at the recent five-day trial of the Solvay Three at Caernarfon crown court. The firm said that it supplied components for Israeli F-35 fighter jets.

The three members of the Welsh…

PN has raised £13,400 for Medical Aid for Palestinians, by giving away badges for a donation, mostly at the national Gaza marches in London – including on 30 March, 27 April and 18 May.

We’ve added two more designs, ‘Stop Arming Israel’ and ‘Stop Starving Gaza’, available along with the original ‘Ceasefire Now’ badge on the PN website.

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International peace group World Beyond War rented eight bus stop advert slots around the White House in Washington DC (6 May – 5 June), to present this message. It took a lot of fundraising and a lot of pressure on companies to allow ‘political’ advertising.

In the general election campaign, every candidate for the Westminster parliament must be told that if they do not call for an immediate, permanent, ceasefire in Gaza, they will not receive your vote.

Out of all the crises and pressing issues in the world, the slaughter in Gaza must be the most urgent question of the British general election.

Both the Conservatives and Labour pretend to be calling for a ceasefire, but all they mean by that is a few weeks’ pause to get…

On 25 April our trial for Criminal Damage took place following our arrest on 29 December at Downing Street to protest the UK government’s complicity in the genocide in Gaza. We had poured red poster paint on the gates, and made bloody handprints, held placards and read the names of children killed by Israel and Hamas.

The evening before our trial we held a gathering at the wonderful London Catholic Worker  where we spoke about our…

4 April: The international Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) will sail in mid April with multiple vessels, carrying 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of international human rights observers to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

This is an emergency mission as the situation in Gaza is dire, with famine setting in in northern Gaza, and catastrophic hunger present throughout the Gaza Strip as the result of a deliberate policy by the Israeli…

Sorry For The People Not The Wall
I am sorry for
The people
Not the wall;
The wall is solid
And brick
But people
Are soft
And bleed;
Bleed from BAE bombs
And Elbit
Drones.
They bleed
And they
Starve;
People get shot
When they
Queue
For food.
The wall
Stands silent;
Indifferent to
Suffering,
A defence we
Cannot breach,
Unlike the everyday,…

On 2 March, a ‘No Ceasefire No Vote’ conference in London brought together former Labour party members and other solidarity campaigners, ‘determined to create mass pressure for every candidate to call for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Gaza’.

The gathering was supported by independent socialist councillors from Blackburn, Bolton, Bristol, Burnley, Gedling, Hastings, Kirklees, Liverpool, London (Haringey, Kensington & Chelsea, Merton, and Newham), Newcastle, Norwich,…

Two US anti-Gaza War protesters have set themselves on fire.

On 25 February, a serving member of the US air force, a 25-year-old white Christian anarchist, Aaron Bushnell, set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. He died seven hours later.

Using his smartphone, Bushnell livestreamed his protest on Twitch. He said: ‘I will no longer be complicit in genocide.’ 

After he set himself on fire, he screamed: ‘Free Palestine.’

On 1 December, an…

Every poll since the beginning of the massacre in Gaza has found that a majority of people in Britain want in an immediate end to Israel’s assault. 

Even if we subtract those who only support a ‘pause’ in the war, we still find that a majority of British people who have an opinion back an immediate, unconditional, permanent ceasefire, as called for by UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs.

The latest poll, conducted on 12 and 13 February, found that two-thirds of British people (66…

Israel’s brutal war and starvation campaign in Gaza has continued to spark protest across the UK, with large marches and blockades and property damage at arms companies.

In the last two months, the major Gaza-related protests in the UK have been the national ‘Stop the Genocide – Ceasefire Now’ demonstrations in London, involving tens of thousands. The march went to Downing Street on 3 February, to the Israeli embassy in West London on 17 February, and to the US embassy in South London…

PN has raised over £8,200 so far for Medical Aid for Palestinians, by selling ‘Ceasefire Now’ badges for a donation at the national Gaza marches in London this year. All proceeds went to MAP.