CAMPAIGNERS have called for an immediate ceasefire and for the UK Government to stop arm sales to Israel ahead of a protest in Edinburgh at the weekend.
Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on the Scottish capital on Saturday to join a pro-Palestinian demonstration to oppose Israel’s mounting military attacks across the Middle East.
Starting at 1pm at the foot of The Mound protesters have been encouraged to wear black clothing, Palestinian thobes or tartan.
The march will be a silent “funeral procession” through the city centre following a coffin to mark one year of the violence.
Maree Shepherd of Show Israel the Red Card, a campaign group calling for Israel to be suspended from world sports and events, said Israel has no respect for international law.
She said: “A year on from one of the most brutal onslaughts on a people we have ever seen, it should be of no surprise that millions of people across the world will again take to the streets to protest Israel’s military campaign and well-documented war crimes.
“We will also hear calls from world leaders for the release of Israeli hostages; they should be released.
“But why do we never hear calls for the release of Palestinian men, women and children who languish in Israeli jails under ‘administrative detention’ meaning held indefinitely without charge or trial?
“The conflict did not start on 7 Oct. It began in 1948 when Palestinians were violently ethnically cleansed to create the state of Israel. Those allowed to remain live under military occupation and apartheid rule or in the case of Gazans under a crippling 17-year closure and blockade imposed by Israel, which even before the recent conflict amounted to collective punishment.
“Like apartheid South Africa, we call on governments to defund Israel. To suspend it from world forums until it can respect international law and value all life as equal.”
Earlier this week the poverty charity Oxfam released figures that showed more than 6000 women, and 11,000 children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the last 12 months.
According to reports from the UN Children and Armed Conflict over the last 18 years no other conflicts have killed a higher number of children in one year and no greater number of women have been killed over 12 months in the last two decades.
Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 people in the last year.
David Myles, from Scottish Friends of Palestine, said his campaign group is calling for peace and that there needs to be an immediate de-escalation from Israel.
He said: “Israel has finally succeeded in pulling Iran into an all-out conflict. “What is next? Who is next?
“Political leaders in Holyrood, Westminster and around the world cannot claim to be working towards peace while they actively arm and support Israel - an illegal occupation and the longest in modern history - that stands accused by the International Court of Justice of plausible genocide.
“By doing so, they are giving the green light for a repeat of the bloodbath and destruction of nations in the Middle East that the world has so harrowingly witnessed for months in Gaza.
“The reason pro-Palestinian protests have continued to grow in the UK and worldwide and show no sign of slowing down is because governments are out of step with the demands of the public.
“While we call for peace, a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation, governments have responded with increased funding and support for Israel and its military action. This must stop”
