Israeli Embassy Action - 13th May - Pictures
Stop the War | 13.05.2002 19:22
Today (13th May 2002) around 15 activists tried to scale the fences of the Israeli embassy in London to perform a banner drop.
Israeli Embassy Action - 13th May - Pictures
The action was in support of the Palestinian right to resist the occupation by Israel, and called for an immediate end to the occupation and immediate compliance and implementation of all UN resolutions including the right to return of Palestinian refugees and a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem.
The action also called for immediate intervention to protect the Palestinian people and ensure Israel’s compliance with international law - importantly it was also in solidarity with those internationals on hunger strike in jail after their arrest after leaving the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem (see below for more details).
At around 1.45 approx 15 activists rushed through the security checkpoint outside of the Israeli embassy and began scaling the iron fences to the embassy garden itself - preparing to perform a banner drop. At the same time a large banner reading "Free Palestine" was stretched out across the entrance gates. Some activists got to the top of the fence but were beaten off by security on the inside of the garden (one heftily swinging a golf umbrella), while police with batons drawn pulled people off from the other side (nb in one of the pictures you can see the umbrella shortly before the highest activist falls from the top of the fence in the next picture).
The group remained calm, having previously emphasised that they would act peacefully and not physically resist any actions by police. Police were instructed to tell people to stop writing notes and not to take any pictures. It was all over very quickly as everyone walked out of the security compound and set up the other banners for passers by to see.
Following this people walked down the street with banners unfurled handing out leaflets (see below) before making a short protest at Marks and Spencers dept store in connection with the sale of Israeli goods.
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Text of Action Leaflet:
FREE PALESTINE, ISRAEL OUT
The people protesting at the Israeli Embassy today are acting in solidarity with the people of Palestine who continue to resist the Israeli 'incursions' into their territory and the day-to-day human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli military against the Palestinian people, thousands of whom have been murdered, injured and made homeless by an apartheid Israeli State.
As the Israeli army continues to promote the myth of withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, the situation on the ground remains highly critical for the Palestinian civilian population. The Israeli army has merely redeployed to surround the areas they previously invaded and the military closure and siege is still in force disrupting and directly threatening the lives of thousands of Palestinians every day.
- We support the Palestinian right to resist the occupation.
- We call for an immediate end to the occupation and immediate compliance and implementation of all UN resolutions including the right to return of Palestinian refugees and a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem.
- We call for immediate intervention to protect the Palestinian people and ensure Israel’s compliance with international law.
DEPORTING JUSTICE FROM ISRAEL
On Thursday 2 May, 23 internationals entered Manger Square in Bethlehem and delivered food to the starving people in the Church of the Nativity. 10 went inside, to act as human shields against the bullets fired daily into the church by the Military. As others tried top leave the square, they were detained without charge and due process. In the last week, many of those internationals were deported from Israel and banned from returning within 10 years. The
The remainder are still in jail, and some have been on hunger strike for many days now and several are also refusing water. Both yesterday and today the 4 Americans being detained called their Embassy pleading for assistance to put an end to this intolerable situation. The four hunger-strikers are in deteriorating health and have expressed their outrage at the lack of attention and support from the American Embassy.
Since Trevor Baumgarten collapsed yesterday afternoon from having no food for 10 days and no water for four, no one from the American Embassy has yet visited them.
The four men are protesting their deportation and the Ministry of the Interior's reneging on an agreement reached last week, that they wouldn't be deported. One woman, Huwaida Arraf, who was detained following the same action, has already returned to the US on these terms. Out of the group of 10 who were in the Church, 1 British and 1 Dane have already been deported.
Israel receives a staggering amount of financial aid from the American government to fund its war against the Palestinian people and also receives tacit support of the international community who seem content not to call to account the abusive and racist acts of the Israeli War Machine.
For more information see:
http://www.jerusalem.indymedia.org http://www.palsolidarity.org
Stop the War
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