MASSES OF protesters gathered in
London’s Grosvenor Square last Friday to express their anger at US President
Donald Trump’s announcement of his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel and of his intention to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from
Tel Aviv.
The
protesters in London were amongst many thousands around the world who were also
protesting at US embassies at this outrage against the rights of Palestinians,
for whom Jerusalem has been their capital city for centuries.
The London
protest was organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Palestinian Forum
in Britain (PFB), Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA), Stop the War Coalition (STW),
Muslim Association of Britain (MAB).
It was also
supported by: Muslim Voices, Stand up to Trump, Jews for Justice for
Palestinians, War on Want, Association of Palestinian Communities in the UK,
Olive and Europal Forum.
Cities
around the world have risen up in solidarity protests whilst occupying Israeli
forces attack Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for standing up for
what they refer to as "an act of aggression against the Palestinian
people" and the end of the Palestinian–Israeli peace process.
"America
has always been a part of the problem when it comes to Palestine; Trump has
only highlighted this," said Ida Rosida, from Indonesia, outside the US
embassy on Friday evening.
"Saudi
Arabia's response has saddened me. I'm here as a Muslim in support for
Palestine and I really think Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, which has
the moral responsibility to step up, should do more."
Fashion
model Bella, who was passing from one engagement to another, jumped out of her
car to join the protest, deciding to add her voice to the protest. Bella’s
father is Palestinian and she has spoken of her support for the country before
this.
In an
Instagram post, she wrote: “I’ve been waiting to put this into perfect words
but I realised there is no perfect way to speak of something so unjust. A very,
very sad day. Watching the news and seeing the pain of the Palestinian people
makes me cry for the many, many generations of Palestine.”
Another
Palestinian protester, Salah Abu al-Kas, originally from Gaza, said he is
determined to teach his children that they are Palestinian – no matter what
happens to them or where in the world they go.
"Jerusalem
is our city, and it is our capital, and we will not give up a grain of sand for
anybody else," he said. "I hope by the time my son is an adult, there
is a liberated Palestine but, no matter what, I will teach him that he is
Palestinian. He will know his country and he will not give it up for the
world."
Robert
Borba, an American at the protest, described himself as a revolutionary
activist. He joked about the way that he has been protesting for Palestine
longer than many of the young people at the demonstration had been alive.
"As an
American, I think this is a long sting of aggression," he said.
"Trump has the capability to destroy the planet; he is a very dangerous
man."
Despite
this, he still has hope. "I would say to Palestinians that it is always
darkest before dawn. People have been rallying for decades and solidarity
movements are constantly growing. Palestine will never be forgotten."
Just before
the protest Ben Jamal, the PSC director, told the press: “The essential message
Trump wanted to deliver to the world was that it was time to accept reality. It
is indeed, but not in the way he suggests.
“President
Trump creates his own reality. Climate change is a myth because he thinks it
is. Targeting Muslims travelling to the US is not discriminatory. And now he
wants us to believe that declaring Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel,
overturning decades of US policy that reflects the international consensus,
will advance peace.
“But it is
what he didn’t say yesterday that spoke volumes about his position on the
status of Jerusalem. In particular, there were two crucial things missing from
his White House announcement: first, any recognition of international law;
second, any acknowledgement of the rights and legitimate claims of the
Palestinian people.
“In 1980,
when Israel attempted to legitimise its annexation of East Jerusalem by passing
a Bill through the Knesset, the international community acted swiftly to
condemn its actions as illegal. UN Security Council
resolutions 476 and 478 identified the annexation as a violation of the 4th
Geneva Convention and resolved that no states should locate their embassies in
Jerusalem.”
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