Latest news with #PalestinianSolidarityCampaign
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Pro-Palestine protesters chant ‘RAF shame on you' at air base demonstration
Protesters held banners that said 'end British military collaboration with Israel' and '61,000+ killed, 600 RAF spy flights'. There were chants of 'RAF you work for us, Israel is not your boss', 'RAF shame, shame – killing children in your name' and 'RAF blood on your hands'. A large Palestine flag was erected in front of a replica Second World War Hurricane fighter plane outside the entrance to the air base, with organisers bussing in protesters from High Wycombe railway station. Pro-Palestine protesters from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign outside RAF High Wycombe (Sam Hall/PA) The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: 'On 16th August, as part of our summer of action for Gaza, we will be surrounding RAF High Wycombe, drawing on the legacy of protest at air bases like Greenham Common, and showing the strength of the public demand for an arms embargo.' A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: 'We are aware of a protest being planned to take place in High Wycombe today. 'We will work with the organisers, partners and the public to facilitate peaceful protest, balancing the rights of all and to keep our communities safe.' RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire houses Headquarters Air Command and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s. The station is also the headquarters of the European Air Group and the UK Space Command. Protesters from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign outside RAF High Wycombe (Sam Hall/PA) Last weekend in central London, 15,000 people demonstrated peacefully in support of the Palestinian cause with only one arrest, the Metropolitan Police said, adding that 522 were arrested 'for an illegal show of support for Palestine Action on the same day'. The Metropolitan Police said on Friday that a further 60 people will be prosecuted for 'showing support for the proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action'. The force said this follows the arrest of more than 700 people since the group was banned on July 5, including 522 in central London last Saturday. More prosecutions are expected in the coming weeks and arrangements have been put in place 'that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary', the Met said. Last week, the Met confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences against section 13 of the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action. Palestine Action was proscribed by the UK Government in July, with the ban meaning that membership of, or support for, the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Activists gather outside St George's Cathedral to honour journalists killed in Gaza
CAPE TOWN - A vigil is being held outside St George's Cathedral to honour the journalists who have been killed in Gaza. Journalists and activists have gathered outside the Church to show solidarity and to remember the media workers killed since October 7, 2023. According to the International Federation of Journalists, more than 270 journalists and media workers have been killed since the beginning of the conflict. Activists and journalists made their way to the steps of St George's Cathedral. Palestinian flags and posters are being held high by those who have come to pay their respects to the journalists who have lost their lives in the conflict. Some motorists showed support by hooting as they drove passed the oldest cathedral in Southern Africa. Demonstrators also chanted on the steps of the cathedral, calling for more to be done for the people of Palestine The chairperson from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Usuf Chikte, said they are also strongly opposed to what he said is the deliberate starvation and killing of Palestinians and journalists. "And we are standing here in defence of humanity to oppose the killings and the starvation and the displacement of the Palestinians by Israel.' Demonstrators are calling for justice for the journalists who have lost their lives and for accountability from media companies. They said they have not been impartial in reporting on the conflict. This past Sunday, five journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Award-winning South African cartoonist, Jonathan Shapiro, was also in attendance and said he has been critical of the conflict in the Middle East for decades. 'I've been doing cartoons in support of Palestinians and condemning Israel for decades, actually, but of course in the last couple of years, since things have increased in their trusties and their ferocity and the genocide has become so apparent, I've done tougher and tougher cartoons, and I will keep doing them.' Freedom of Palestine demonstrators are also calling for intervention in war-torn Congo and Sudan.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Police to question 'The Crown' actor over pro-Palestinian rally
LONDON — The British actor who played Princess Diana's love interest in the Netflix series 'The Crown' said he had been summoned for questioning by police after he attended a pro-Palestinian rally in central London. Khalid Abdalla, who played Dodi Fayed in the popular show, said in a statement posted to his social media channels that London's Metropolitan Police Service had sent him a letter requesting he attend 'a formal interview,' in relation to 'the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign protest' Jan. 18. 'It remains to be seen if this will result in charges,' added Abdalla, who also starred in 'United 93' and 'The Day of the Jackal.' He added that the right to protest was 'under attack' in the the United Kingdom. Abdalla was among tens of thousands of people who attended the demonstration, which was held the day after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the war in the Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of more than 48,000 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian enclave. Israel launched its military campaign after the Hamas terrorist attacks Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. The Metropolitan Police confirmed to NBC News via email that it had arrested 77 people on suspicion of breaching protest conditions after some of them broke through a police line that day. It added that 21 people had been charged so far. As part of the 'ongoing investigation,' the force said it had 'invited a further eight people to be interviewed under caution at a police station.' British police typically do not confirm the identity of anyone under investigation. Abdalla, 44, has attended several pro-Palestinian rallies in the past and has publicly called for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Addressing the crowds at the Jan. 18 rally, Abdalla said, 'Tomorrow phase one of this ceasefire begins. It remains to be seen if the ceasefire will hold, or if the blood shed since it was announced augurs what it will become.' In February, he was one of the signatories to an open letter written to the BBC by the advocacy group, Artists for Palestine UK, which criticized the broadcaster for pulling a documentary on Gaza's children. The Palestine Coalition, the activist group that organized the rally, condemned the letter sent to Abdalla in a statement issued Monday, accusing police of carrying out an 'apparently coordinated attack against the Palestine solidarity movement.' The force, it said, was 'endeavoring to halt public protest on the issue through harassment of those involved in the movement, and through increasingly draconian restrictions on demonstrations.' This article was originally published on
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Crown' Actor Summoned For Police Interview After Pro-Palestine Protest
Khalid Abdalla, who played Princess Diana's lover Dodi Fayed in The Crown, says he has been summoned to a police interview after attending a pro-Palestine protest in London in January. Writing on Instagram, Abdalla said 'the right to protest is under attack' in the UK following the summons, which relates to a Palestinian Solidarity Campaign rally that also led to ex-Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn being questioned under caution for breaching the rally's conditions. More from Deadline BBC Chair Says 'Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone' Saga Is "Dagger To The Heart" Of Impartiality Left Bank Pictures Sales Dive 77% After 'The Crown's Conclusion, As Producer Enters New Era Ofcom Weighs In On 'Gaza: How to Survive A Warzone' Row: Tells BBC It Has "Ongoing Concerns About The Nature & Gravity Of These Failings" Abdalla has been a leading voice from the cultural world supporting Palestinians and the need for a ceasefire in Gaza. He said he was summoned by the Metropolitan Police several days ago alongside the likes of Stephen Kapos, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, and both have been asked to attend a 'formal interview.' The Metropolitan Police told the BBC that eight people had been 'invited to be interviewed under caution at a police station' as part of an 'ongoing investigation into alleged breaches of Public Order Act conditions on Saturday 18 January.' Protest laws in the UK have been significantly tightened in recent years. When Corbyn and his former Labour Chancellor John McDonnell were interviewed about the rally several weeks back, the BBC reported that the conditions of the rally were that it would remain in the Central London area of Whitehall and not move on, yet the police said a large group made its way from Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. 'While there is an alarming rise in attempts to censor voices that stand up for Palestine, even as it faces open calls for ethnic cleansing, it will not work,' wrote Abdalla on Instagram. 'The stakes are too high.' Abdalla flagged Sunday's Oscar night victory for Palestinian-Israeli West Bank doc No Other Land as proof that censorship 'will not work.' He was also one of the big name signatories on the open letter sent to the BBC calling for the reinstatement of the Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone doc, which has been taken off iPlayer after it emerged that one of its narrators is the son of a Hamas minister. Abdalla, who has been nominated for two SAG Awards, is best known for playing Fayed, the son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, in seven episodes of The Crown. Other credits include The Day of the Jackal, The Kite Runner and United 93. Best of Deadline How To Watch Sean Baker's Oscar Winner 'Anora': Streaming, For Rent And More 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery Every Oscars Best Animated Feature Winner Since 2002
NBC News
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Police to question 'The Crown' actor over pro-Palestinian rally
LONDON — The British actor who played Princess Diana's love interest in the Netflix series 'The Crown' said he had been summoned for questioning by police after he attended a pro-Palestinian rally in central London. Khalid Abdalla, who played Dodi Fayed in the popular show, said in a statement posted to his social media channels that London's Metropolitan Police Service had sent him a letter requesting he attend 'a formal interview,' in relation to 'the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign protest' Jan. 18. 'It remains to be seen if this will result in charges,' added Abdalla, who also starred in 'United 93' and 'The Day of the Jackal.' He added that the right to protest was 'under attack' in the the United Kingdom. Abdalla was among tens of thousands of people who attended the demonstration, which was held the day after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the war in the Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of more than 48,000 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian enclave. Israel launched its military campaign after the Hamas terror ist attacks Oct. 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. The Metropolitan Police confirmed to NBC News via email that it had arrested 77 people on suspicion of breaching protest conditions after some of them broke through a police line that day. It added that 21 people had been charged so far. As part of the 'ongoing investigation,' the force said it had 'invited a further eight people to be interviewed under caution at a police station.' British police typically do not confirm the identity of anyone under investigation. Abdalla, 44, has attended several pro-Palestinian rallies in the past and has publicly called for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Addressing the crowds at the Jan. 18 rally, Abdalla said, 'Tomorrow phase one of this ceasefire begins. It remains to be seen if the ceasefire will hold, or if the blood shed since it was announced augurs what it will become.' In February, he was one of the signatories to an open letter written to the BBC by the advocacy group, Artists for Palestine UK, which criticized the broadcaster for pulling a documentary on Gaza's children. The Palestine Coalition, the activist group that organized the rally, condemned the letter sent to Abdalla in a statement issued Monday, accusing police of carrying out an 'apparently coordinated attack against the Palestine solidarity movement.' The force, it said, was 'endeavoring to halt public protest on the issue through harassment of those involved in the movement, and through increasingly draconian restrictions on demonstrations.'
