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The Telegraph
The Telegraph
2 Mar 2024
Tim Sigsworth


Pro-Palestinian protesters accuse Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer of aiding and abetting genocide

Pro-Palestinian activists have called for Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer to be charged with aiding and abetting genocide just hours after the Prime Minister warned that democracy was being targeted by extremists.

A crowd of about 150 protesters gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday and chanted: “From the river, to the sea”.

About 30 officers watched on in central London as the protesters repeatedly chanted what the Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously described as “genocidal language”.

When The Telegraph asked one police officer why the chant was allowed, he said: “It depends on the context.”

The protest, organised by the fringe Palestinian Pulse organisation, was accompanied by a drum, trombone and trumpet band.

At one point, the protesters’ chant appeared to be directed towards the Prime Minister’s comments from Friday, as they shouted: “In our thousands and our millions, we are all Palestinians. We won’t be intimidated”.

A crowd of about 150 protesters gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday
A crowd of about 150 protesters gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday Credit: Jamie Lorriman/Jamie Lorriman

One protester held aloft a piece of cardboard saying: “Rishi you are the extremists, not us”. They then began chanting: “Rishi Sunak, resign.”

The demonstration was organised just days after George Galloway was voted in as MP in Thursday’s by-election in the former Labour stronghold of Rochdale.

A group of six police officers was positioned to guard Westminster Pier, not far from where protesters were filmed throwing flour.

One placard referred to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, as “Satanyahu” and another accused the British government of being “complicit” in the deaths of “30,000 innocent Palestinians” in Gaza.

The central London protest was one of a number held across the country.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) singled out Barclays bank for its day of action, assembling at nearly 50 locations, including the branch on Tottenham Court Road in central London.

Protesters marched from Mornington Crescent to the Barclays branch, accompanied by the controversial “from the river to the sea” chant and flanked by a mass of police officers.

The central London protest was one of a number held across the country
The central London protest was one of a number held across the country Credit: Jamie Lorriman/Jamie Lorriman

At the Barclays branch on Tottenham Court Road, the police ordered protesters to move across the road, citing Section 14 of the Public Order Act.

Among those was Peter Frankental, from Chingford, who carried a sign that read: “Aaron Bushnell: an act of bravery and courage that will not be forgotten”, referencing the member of the US Air Force who died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in protest at the conflict in Gaza.

Asked whether he would condone a similar action outside the Houses of Parliament, he said: “Yes, certainly, it’s a supreme act for somebody to take their life in that way for what they believe in.

“Very few people would be prepared to do that and it communicates a strong message.”

Luca Salice, 67, co-chair of the Camden Palestine Solidarity Campaign, dismissed the Prime Minister’s rhetoric around extremists as an election ploy and said protesters were actually grateful for the police.

“Rishi Sunak is losing an election. He is scrambling”, Mr Salice said, adding: “I don’t think our protests are extremist. I don’t see how being in favour of human lives is extremist.”

Mr Salice, an Italian who now lives in Camden, added: “There could be one or two extremists who come into the protests. I can’t say that is impossible and luckily we have the police here, who are working with us.

“They are helping us organise this protest and making sure they are safe. And whenever they see the odd person who may do something wrong, it is up to them to arrest them.”

Mr Sunak warned that there had been a “shocking increase” in extremist activity in Britain in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

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The Campaign Against Antisemitism has said that weekly pro-Palestinian marches “made our capital city a no-go zone for Jews, and repel law-abiding Londoners”.

The PSC targeted Barclays branches in Croydon, Hammersmith, Haringey, Harrow, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Streatham, Tower Hamlets, Willesden and Wimbledon.

It comes after the Home Secretary James Cleverly said pro-Palestinian protesters had “made their point” and questioned: “What are these protests genuinely hoping to achieve?”

The group has called for a boycott of the British bank because it claims Barclays holds “substantial financial ties” with arms companies supplying weapons to Israel.