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Home News Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire

Hundreds of people turn out in Aberdeen to protest violence against Palestine

By David Walker
palestine
The protest organised by Aberdeen Trades Union Council against Israel's escalating violence against Palestine outside Marischal College, Aberdeen. Pictured by Darrell Benns

Hundreds of protestors flocked to Marischal Square in Aberdeen on Saturday to show their support for Palestine.

About 500 north-east residents rallied in the city and campaigned against the escalation of Israeli state violence against Palestinians in Jerusalem and Gaza.

They protested in a socially distanced way, and the majority wore masks.

A number of speakers took to the stage to offer their support to the cause, including politicians such as Kirsty Blackman and Maggie Chapman.

The event was supported by a number of local groups and organisations, including the  Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC), CND North East Scotland, Campaigning for Peace, and Aberdeen University Palestine Society.

Tommy Campbell, former Unite regional officer and member of the ATUC, was pleased about the number of people who attended the protest.

He said: “It was an absolutely brilliant turn-out, the whole of Marischal Square was completely filled up.

“Spirits were good, people were chanting from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

The protest organised by Aberdeen Trades Union Council against Israel’s escalating violence against Palestine outside Marischal College, Aberdeen.<br />Pictured by Darrell Benns

“The speakers condemned the actions of Israel and called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

“It lasted just over two hours, with spirits and hopes kept high throughout it.

“There were people of all ages there, children, families, there was a good, broad representation.”

Protests were also held in Inverness and Edinburgh today.

The Israel/Palestine conflict

The protest organised by Aberdeen Trades Union Council against Israel’s escalating violence against Palestine outside Marischal College, Aberdeen.<br />Pictured by Darrell Benns

Israel and Palestine have long been at war, with UK leaders urging for “de-escalation” amid worsening Middle East fighting.

This week, the Gaza Strip has been bombed by Israel, with thousands of Palestinians being forced to flee from their homes.

Hamas fired hundreds of rockets in Israel, whose military responded by barraging the Gaza Strip with tank fire and air strikes.

At least 126 people have been killed in Gaza, including 31 children and 20 women.

In Israel seven people have been killed, including a six-year-old boy and a soldier.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Momen Faiz/NurPhoto/Shutterstock <br />Rockets light up the night sky as they are fired towards Israel from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. – Israel pounded Gaza and deployed extra troops to the border as Palestinians fired barrages of rockets back, with the death toll in the enclave on the fourth day of conflict.

Jonathan Russell, Chairman of CND North East Scotland/ Campaigning for Peace stated: “We condemn the actions of the Israeli Government in illegally taking land away from the Palestinians and in their day-to-day harassment of Palestinians.

“Further, we condemn the use of disproportionate use of force against the Palestinians. The two-way arms trade between Israel and the UK is compounding this horrendous situation.

“We call on the International Community to both condemn this situation but also to put in place a just agreement for the Palestinian people.”

Nakba Day

palestine
The protest organised by Aberdeen Trades Union Council against Israel’s escalating violence against Palestine outside Marischal College, Aberdeen.<br />Pictured by Darrell Benns

On Saturday, Palestinians will also commemorate 73 years since the Nakba when almost 1 million Palestinians were expelled from their homes when the Israeli state was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War.

The word Nakba translates from Arabic as catastrophe or disaster, with the occasion designed to remember 700,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and seek refuge in nearby countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

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