SINCE the beginning of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets all across the UK to participate in pro-Palestine campaigns.
Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, Israel’s response has resulted in more than 40,000 Palestinians being killed and more than 90,000 injured.
In that time, there has been a change in government here in the UK, South Africa has launched a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice while the International Criminal Court is still seeking arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu (below), his defence minister Yoav Gallant and senior Hamas figures.
The UK Government last week decided to suspend only 30 out of 350 arms exports licences to Israel.
One year of campaigning
IT’S almost been a year since October 7 and while there has always been a pro-Palestine movement, demonstrations intensified following Israel’s response.
Looking back, campaigner with the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign Naomi Junnor told the Sunday National: “It’s heartbreaking. It feels ridiculous at times what we’re doing but we know we have to keep doing it.”
With a worsening situation in Gaza and a lack of action from the UK Government, it’s easy to think campaigners like Junnor might become disheartened. She says she believes Labour’s failure to scrap the majority of arms exports is “tokenistic” and an “insult to humanity”.
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But, if anything, the resolve to take to the streets every week has only grown stronger these past 12 months or so, she explained: “I have the drive to continue. I speak at demonstrations and I’m glad to be invited to do so.”
The Scottish Government is not exempt from criticism either, in Junnor’s view, who believes Angus Robertson’s apologies over his meeting with a senior Israeli diplomat came too late.
Scotland’s Culture Secretary (below) was met with pro-Palestine campaigners at SNP conference, calling for him to step down from his position in the Cabinet.
After the meeting, he issued a statement saying the meeting was not intended to portray any “normalisation of relations with Israel” but, for Junnor and other campaigners, this hasn’t been enough.
“His apologies have come too late,” she said. “They’re meaningless and he did it in the full knowledge of how people feel towards the state of Israel.”
Looking to the future
WHILE Jonathon Shafi with Stop The War acknowledges the lack of positive change in Gaza, he does believe the movement has made a difference.
“The scale of the demonstrations that have taken place has been enormous,” he told the Sunday National.
“That’s not just in terms of the numbers of people who have taken to the streets but the repeated nature of this almost every weekend.
“The importance of the demonstrations I think has been to ensure a consistent voice in the country on a mass scale saying that Israeli policy has been genocidal in intent and has to be stopped.
“You might say the marches haven’t achieved their overall goal to actually get a ceasefire, but we always knew this was going to be a marathon and not a sprint and that’s why the demonstrations continue.”
Shafi also points out that there have been those opposed to the movement, with former home secretary Suella Braverman (below) previously branding the demonstrations as “hate marches”.
Police Scotland also faced criticism following a demonstration in July in which one woman was allegedly knocked unconscious with a baton and hospitalised.
At the time, the force said that one member of the public had indeed been taken to hospital as a “precaution” but gave no reason for the hospitalisation. That particular incident came six weeks after another protest outside the Thales factory in Govan, in which a National journalist was threatened with arrest without legal basis.
Shafi added: “Without demonstrations, where would the nation’s conscience be? The recent decision to stop a small amount of arms exports, which in my opinion doesn’t go far enough, shows how the UK Government is under pressure with regards to violations of international humanitarian law.
“Demonstrations have been inspiring because there’s been people from all walks of life, all faith backgrounds and people who haven’t been on a march before.
“One of the first people I spoke to at a demonstration was in the Conservative Party who left as a result of the party’s policy on Gaza.”
Looking forward
GERRY Coutts, a campaigner with Scottish Friends of Palestine, has understandably mixed emotions reflecting on the last year.
“When I go out demonstrating, there’s far more people and more solidarity so that does lift me and it helps to see that,” he said.
“But since October 7 last year, the situation has got even more dire. The campaign has pros and cons in that so many people have come on board and it’s become more mainstream in supporting Palestine. What we’re seeing in Gaza though is unimaginable.”
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As Shafi pointed out, the movement has helped to spread the message and consistently called for a ceasefire and peace, even at a time when the UK Government refused to do so for long.
“We have to keep going, deepen our understanding of the situation and create a permanent presence in favour of justice for the Palestinians,” he said.
“This is an inclusive campaign. It’s based on hope, the idea that peace is better than war and that there must be justice for the Palestinians.”
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