South Africa: Protesters Call for UK and UAE to Take Action On Gaza

Scores of people picketed in Cape Town and Pretoria on Friday to demand that the UK and UAE take urgent action to end the genocide of Palestinian people.

The protest follows calls from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) for a global day of action to demand immediate relief for people in Gaza, including the provision of aid, medical relief and shelter.

Cape Town

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the UK would recognise the state of Palestine by September, unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza.

But the UK government has allowed companies to sell arms to Israel and it has also supported Israel diplomatically.

On Thursday, activists picketed outside the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre, calling for the centre to recognise Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.

On Friday, dozens of people picketed outside the British Consulate, accusing the country of being complicit in Israel’s “genocidal assault on Gaza and its broader regime of apartheid”.

Protestors banged empty pots while others held up posters which read: “The UK is complicit in the killing of children in Gaza” and “[Prime Minister] Keir Starmer says Israel has a right to cut off water”.

They also chanted “Starmer, Starmer, what do you say, how many children did you kill today?”

A memorandum by the PSC to the Consulate-General called for the UK to impose a full arms embargo on Israel and to cease surveillance and intelligence sharing.

“We write to express grave concern over the UK government’s ongoing complicity in Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and its broader regime of apartheid and military occupation. The recent statement about recognising Palestine in September are empty words that do nothing to stop the slaughter of Palestinians today,” the memorandum stated.

Protestors wanted to hand over the memo to officials but were told by a security guard that the office was closed.

GroundUp sent questions to the British Consulate. We were referred to statements made by the Prime Minister and the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Lammy stated at a UN conference on 29 July:

“660 days since the Israeli hostages were first cruelly taken by Hamas terrorists. There is no possible justification for this suffering. And only a clear duty that we help bring it to an end. The devastation in Gaza is heart-breaking. Children are starving, and Israel’s drip feeding of aid has horrified the world. These are an affront to the values of the Charter of the United Nations. Last week Britain led 28 countries in demanding an immediate end to this terrible war. And set the region on a path to a better future. That requires not just an immediate ceasefire. But a plan to make it last.”

Pretoria

There was also a protest outside the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Pretoria. Protesters accused the UAE of being complicit in the war through its trade and diplomatic ties to Israel.

Police dressed in riot gear lined the outside of the embassy and kept a close eye on the peaceful picketers.

According to the Guardian on Friday, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded that at least 859 Palestinians were killed while attempting to obtain aid at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites between 27 May and 31 July – most by the Israeli military.

More people in Gaza died of starvation in the last 11 days compared to the past 21 months.

By GroundUp.