Gaza genocide - we will never look away

As we do every Saturday, citizens of the North East turned out to protest the genocide in Gaza and to demand an end to the UK government complicity in it through supplying arms to Israel. Also to bear witness to the atrocities and the brutality of the Israeli government and the IDF. 

I wanted to post my speech from today's Gaza demo as it includes the moving and powerful words of my Facebook friend Samir, who is living in Gaza amidst the genocide.

It was also the first demo since a direct action group was proscribed as terrorists and comes as almost 600 Gazans have been murdered trying to get food aid.

"Kate Ramsden, SPSC

It has been some week. We are officially through the looking glass, where those that criticise genocide, and those that take action to end the UK government’s complicity in genocide - are the ones facing terrorism charges.

While those that commit genocide – Israel; the IDF – are home free – they pull the strings and like Pinocchio, our government jumps

Where chanting “Death to the IDF” – a brutal military organisation that every day is murdering innocent citizens and children, for God’s sake and targeting medics and journalists with utter impunity – is deemed antisemitic. I mean what?

Many of us here will have watched Doctors Under Fire, bravely shown by Channel 4 whilst the BBC – that mouthpiece for Israel – refused to screen it.

It was harrowing but showed, without any doubt, what most of us here have always known – that the IDF is targeting medics and medical facilities in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention – a war crime.