Two-year anniversary rally, Leeds Palestine Solidarity Campaign

7th of October Protest

Group numbers were small early on, with just a few individuals sitting on the stairs wearing keffiyehs. As time went on, their presence grew dramatically, taking up around half of the staircase of the location. 

Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israel Protesters 

Individuals were seen waving Palestinian flags and holding signs condemning Israel. Demands were made by the protesters to the government to end their support for Israel and advocate for Palestinian liberation, though local issues were also addressed. 

The group requested bystanders to share sympathy and support Palestinians trapped in Gaza.

A small group of counter-protesters supporting Israel formed at the side, holding a banner calling for the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th. Their number remained small throughout, and eventually left before the Palestine supporters. 

The police presence in the area was rather high, amounting to around 30 officers. Three police vans were parked to the same side as the Israel supporters. No arrests were made, though there were a couple of minor confrontations between police and protesters.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer put out a statement the morning before the gathering requesting students to not protest as a sign of respect to the people who died on October 7th. Starmer deemed any protest on October 7 to be ‘un-British’. When for his opinion on this, one protester replied with the following:

‘What isn’t British is funding genocide. I think for anyone to call protesting ‘un-British’ is inherently a contradiction of British values and what we consider to be a pride of our country’s legacy’

The protester went on to reflect on previous movements saying, 

‘We’ve seen the Suffragettes movement, we’ve seen the civil rights movements in the United Kingdom for years. We’ve seen Black Lives Matter in 2020. None of that was ‘un-British’, it was actually quite British because it’s our right to protest when you see injustice.’

The Gaza 40 campaign was also mentioned, revolving around 40 students with University offers trapped in Gaza and unable to study and contact the University due to the unstable internet connection and reliance on donated eSIM cards to connect with the outside world.

With peace talks currently being led by United States President Donald Trump, many people are starting to envision an end to the conflict in the Middle East, though it may not be for years. Hamas has conditionally agreed to some parts of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, including the immediate release of all hostages. Activist groups have condemned Trump’s involvement, especially with his previous remarks of building estates in the Gaza Strip. These protests are likely to continue should the peace talks continue down their current path.