Protesters took to the streets of Dorchester on Saturday 21 September to demand an arms embargo on Israel from the Labour government and a permanent ceasefire. Organised by 18 year old activist Poppy, the demonstration marched from the Odeon Dorchester to Barclays Bank, for a rally and speeches.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign are calling on concerned people to boycott all Barclays services until the bank ends its financial ties to arms companies supplying weapons’ systems to Israel. Barclays now invests over £2 billion and provides financial services worth £6.1 billion to companies whose weapons, components, and military technology are used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians.
A two minutes silence was held honouring the lives lost during the Israeli bombardment.
One speaker, Somayah, who is of Palestinian heritage told protestors: ‘Yesterday we watched as Israeli Occupation Forces threw dead bodies off a building. That is a war crime. You cannot watch that and think what is happening in Palestine is okay.’
Naira, a student at a local school, read a poem entitled “To kill a child” describing what we have witnessed over the past 11 months, noting ‘The images of parents collecting body parts of their loved ones’.
Poppy, a young activist and organiser of the rally said:
‘We are seeing the most documented genocide in history to date and we must take a stand, united, as a mass movement to demand an immediate arms embargo on Israel and the permanent ceasefire and complete liberation of the Palestinian state.’
Rob Ferguson, secretary of Dorset PSC, wound up the demonstration, telling protestors:
‘As we mark a year of continuing genocide in Gaza, the threat of escalation by Israel and regional war now looms. Our government is complicit. The US and Britain could end the genocide tomorrow. We must build up massive pressure on the government and Keir Starmer to stop arming Israel.’
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