3 hours ago
7
ARTICLE AD BOX
PSC also claimed that the massacre came after an intensification of violence in the West Bank, a period which saw heavy terrorist activity.
By MICHAEL STARR FEBRUARY 6, 2025 16:22
Former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn speaks during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in London, Britain, October 14, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Susannah Ireland)
As Hamas was still conducting its October 7 Massacre, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) notified the London Metropolitan Police (Met) about the first London anti-Israel March, according to a November 2023 freedom of information disclosure.
An organizer on behalf of PSC, which has since held weekly protest marches in London, called the Met to inform them of their intended procession at 12:50 pm on the day that Gazans infiltrated southern Israel, killed over 1,200 people, and took 251 more as hostages.
At the time that PSC called the Met about the October 14 protest, Israeli security forces had just reached the Nova Festival site, still battling terrorists in Sderot, and facing hostage sieges in towns such as Kibbutz Be'eri.
As Hamas rocket launchers and mortars continued to bombard southern Israel and Israel undertook airstrikes and a blockade of the Strip, PSC held an October 9 protest in front of the Israeli embassy in London. The protest called on the British government to enact an arms embargo against Israel and condemned the IDF operations.
"Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed hundreds since Saturday," PSC said on X/Twitter on October 9.
The October 14 march, organized by PSC Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, was held to show "solidarity with Palestine and to demand Israel end its occupation of Palestinian land and apartheid rule over the Palestinian people."
Over 100,000 people attended the event, according to organizers, many of which were provided with prefabricated signs calling to "end Israeli apartheid."
"We have been appalled at the scenes of violence we have been witnessing over the past few days -- we believe that there is no excuse for the targeting and killing of civilians, no matter who perpetrates such crimes," PSC Director Ben Jamal said at the protest. "We are here also because we believe that you cannot end violence until you tackle the root causes of violence, and the root causes of the ongoing violence is Israel's enduring military occupation and imposition upon the Palestinian people of a system of apartheid."
Jamal echoed an October 9 statement that did not touch on the October 7 Massacre, excepting noting that while "International law makes it clear that the deliberate killing of civilians, hostage-taking and collective punishment are war crimes" it "also enshrines the right of a people to resist oppression and military occupation."
"International law must be the framework within which we judge acts of violence and their legitimacy," said PSC. "An offensive launched from Gaza can only be understood in the context of Israel’s ongoing military occupation and colonization of Palestinian land."
Stay updated with the latest news!
Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter
PSC also claimed that the massacre came after an intensification of violence in the West Bank, a period which saw heavy terrorist activity.
Manchester antizionism
The Manchester PSC chapter issued explicit support for the October 7 pogrom, calling it a "heroic move" ahead of an October 8 rally.
"The brave fighters gave us all a glimpse of a liberated Palestine as they took hold over entire Israeli settlements, leaving the Israeli system surprised and paralysed, and shattering its illusions that the Palestinians can be pacified while imprisoned," Manchester PSC had said in a statement.
In response, PSC had associated social media posts deleted and suspended the Manchester chapter's officers.
"Palestine Solidarity Campaign has repeatedly stated our firm belief that international law makes clear that the deliberate killing of civilians, hostage taking and collective punishment are war crimes. We condemn any such acts no matter who perpetrates them," the group said in an October 28 statement.
English (US) ·