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| Volume 54 Number 7, April 6, 2024 | ARCHIVE | HOME | JBCENTRE | SUBSCRIBE |
Palestinian Land Day , London, March 30
2024.
Local, national and international demonstrations have continued without ceasing against the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people over the last weeks and months.
Here in Britain, national demonstrations took place on March 9 demanding "Stop the Genocide in Gaza!", and on March 30, demanding "Ceasefire Now - Stop the Genocide in Gaza!". The organisers put the number of demonstrators on March 9 at 450,000 and on March 30 at 200,000.
The March 9 demonstration took place on the day following International Women's Day, and the concluding rally had an all-women platform, confirming that women, contrary to any backward stereotype, are collectively at the forefront of the fight for justice. It emphasised that day after day the heroic women of Palestine continue to resist the genocide of which they and their children are the main target in this US/Israeli genocidal war. Following the demonstration, it should be mentioned that RCPB(ML) women activists who had participated in marching, and other sympathisers got together to discuss the fight for the New and for the rights of all. Central to the discussions and celebration was the affirmation that women need to empower themselves so as to become the decision-makers, and put an end to the crimes against humanity that are being perpetrated today.
March 30 was also a significant day in that it marked Palestinian Land Day. Forty-eight years ago, in early March, 1976, the Committee for the Defence of Arab Lands called on Palestinians to protest against Israel's massive expropriation measures. A general strike and demonstrations took place throughout Palestinian towns and villages in Israel despite Israeli counter-measures. Every year March 30 is now marked by Palestinians and people in sympathy with the Palestinian cause as a turning point in defence of Palestinian lands.
The next London march for Palestine, "Stop Arming Israel!", takes place on Saturday, April 13, in central London marching to Parliament Square. This is part of a day of regional events, including one in Rhyl, North Wales, demanding that the British government #StopArmingIsrael. There will also be a Yorkshire demonstration in Bradford on April 20, and many more to be announced.
As Stop the War Coalition, one of the organisers and mobilisers of these demonstrations, said early in March: "The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Half a million people are facing starvation, acute food shortages are affecting the whole population and Israeli forces are carrying out massacres against those in queue for basic foodstuffs.
"Meanwhile, here in Britain the government has escalated its attacks on the pro-Palestine movement, with Rishi Sunak resorting to the 'mob rule' cliché and James Cleverly calling for an end to the recent wave of protests while floating clampdowns on the right to protest."
The next national demonstration will be on April 27. But it is certain that local and regional demonstrations will also be stepped up, as Israel becomes more and more the pariah on the world stage, as the US and Israeli Zionists are committing crimes beyond the imagination, and Israel's "allies", including Britain, are facing increasing crisis as the level of the people's protests in Britain and worldwide are showing that the people's actions and the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination are what will determine the future. Specifically, right now, the demand to stop arming Israel is becoming central to the movement to end the Israeli genocide and support Palestine's right to be.
Stop the Genocide in Gaza! Stop Arming Israel! Uphold the Palestinian People's Right to Be!
