London protesters denounce killings of Palestinians

LONDON (England) — Demonstrators of all ages and nationalities have gathered in central London to call for an end to the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces.

Up to 2 000 people stood outside Downing Street on Saturday, where the official residence of Prime Minister Theresa May is located, chanting slogans such as “Free, free Palestine” and holding placards reading “Stop Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza” and “Gaza, Stop the Massacre”.

The protest came a day after Israeli troops killed at least nine people, including journalist Yaser Murtaja, during demonstrations along the Gaza border.

A total of 31 Palestinians have been shot dead in the besieged enclave since the start of the peaceful protests on March 30, when tens of thousands took to the border area with Israel to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The rally in the UK capital was organised by the Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum in Britain and Stop the War groups.

Similar events were held in the British cities of Manchester, Bristol and Sheffield.

Among the demonstrators in London were Jews who do not identify with Zionism, the political movement claiming the Jewish right to an independent state.

“Israel is a terrorist state. It is ethnically cleansing the indigenous people of Palestine. Our country [UK] was wrong to give the country to people based on their religion through the Balfour Declaration,” demonstrator Joana Mazouzi said.

“To think that I could go there tomorrow and live there and yet someone who was born there and has got five generations cannot . . . It’s appalling,” she added. “Where is the world?” Mazouzi asked. Glyn Secker, secretary for Jewish Voice for Labour, said Israel’s actions against the Palestinians are putting it at odds with the founding values of Judaism.

“Core Jewish values are derived from core human values, there is no difference. And therefore you can say you are not being true to Jewish values if you are committing 70 years of gross violation of Palestinian rights.” — Reuters THE Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has paid a courtesy call to the King of Lesotho, His Majesty King Letsie III to discuss, among other things, the challenges at the Maseru Bridge, a border between South Africa and Lesotho.

According to reports, senior government officials who included Sisulu and home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba had to intervene last month to quell a diplomatic spat with the neighbouring Kingdom after King Letsie III was “mistreated” at the border gate.

In a statement on Friday, the minister personally apologised to the King for what Dirco described as an “unfortunate and regrettable incident” at the two sister countries border in March.

In her meeting with His Majesty the King, the minister of international relations conveyed the message that the government was working on increasing capacity at the border post.

She said that the government was also working towards finding a permanent solution which was aimed at making travel movements of the King and people travelling between the two countries less complicated.

“We have come here to convey our apology to His Majesty the King, the Lesotho prime minister and to the entire Basotho nation for the inconvenience caused and also to explain to the King what we intend and are committed to do. We are happy that our apology has been accepted,” said Sisulu.

Sisulu’s apology to the mountainous kingdom monarch comes less than a week after another high level South African team visited the border gate following the dispute.

According to SABC, the home affairs minister was in Lesotho before Easter, meeting his Lesotho counterpart to find a lasting solution to the border crisis.

“Minister of Home Affairs, Hon Gigaba will not be alone in solving these challenges. We are all including the Free State Government fully committed to urgently attend to matters of migration between the two countries. The Basotho did not discriminate against us during our struggle for freedom, we are effectively one people”, added Sisulu. — News24