Protest outside the High Court calling for Barclays to be prevented from taking over Tesco Bank

Posted: 17th October 2024

After a year of genocide – the tapestry of which has been woven with the thread of countless massacres – many of us thought the limits of the barbarity being unleashed by Israel upon Palestinians had been reached. But in the past few days, Israel’s renewed assault upon Palestinians in the North of Gaza, has, if it is conceivable, passed new thresholds of horror.  

The footage of 20 year old Shaaban Ahmed Al-Dalu burning alive whilst still attached to an IV unit, after Israel bombed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital has filled all of us with renewed pain and rage. A rage also fuelled by the ongoing responses of our political leaders. Alongside its relentless and brutal military assault, Israel has again cut off aid supplies, continued to escalate its violence into Lebanon killing thousands, and in the past few days has launched attacks on UN bases. And still it is granted impunity by the British government.  

This week, Keir Starmer, pressed in Parliament again to end all arms sales, stated he would not impede Israel’s right to defend itself. The reality of course is that no state has the right to use force to impose a military occupation, sustain a system of apartheid, and unleash a genocide. David Lammy, whilst refusing to sanction Israel as it continues to commit grave violations of international law, instead imposed fresh sanctions upon Iran.

Our task is to channel the rage we all feel into escalated actions, as demanded this week by our core Palestinian partners within the BDS movement. Over the next few weeks, we will be ramping up all of our campaigning.

Tomorrow we will be protesting outside the High Court calling for Barclays to be prevented from taking over Tesco Bank. Barclays should not be allowed to use the Tesco brand to hide its complicity in Israel’s genocide.

On Saturday we have called a day of action demanding an end to the genocide and the imposition of a 2-way arms embargo. Protests will be happening in towns and cities across Britain, led by PSC’s network of nearly 100 branches, with a rally in Trafalgar square at 2pm. We are asking people coming to the Trafalgar square rally to bring flowers or a child’s toy to contribute to an action to commemorate those killed in the genocide.  

Then, on Saturday 2 November, we will be marching again in London on the 21st National March since October 2023.

On Saturday 16 November we will be holding a national day of actions as part of our Boycott Barclays campaign with pickets and sit-ins organised in towns across Britain. This will be followed on 21 November by the next Barclays account closure day. To date, over 4,000 people have closed accounts as part of these actions.  

Finally on 28 November we have called the latest workplace day of action, asking people to stage protests and walkouts in workplaces across the country.  

The movement we have built here in the UK over the past year is of historical size and strength. Globally, Israel is becoming increasingly isolated, but it still retains then support of western powers particularly the US and the British government. Our response has to be to escalate, to continue to build, and to use every lever of power at our disposal to bring an end to all of the complicity of the government, public bodies and companies in the depraved barbarity we are seeing livestreamed across all of our screens.  

In solidarity,

Ben Jamal

Director, PSC