This morning a Niqaab-wearing Youth Demand supporter was violently assaulted by a passer-by as she took part in nonviolent action outside Holborn Station. She was knocked out and suffer two seizures while taking action to demand that the UK government impose a total trade embargo on Israel, and make the super rich and fossil fuel elite pay damages to communities and countries most harmed by fossil fuel burning. [1]
At around 9am, 27 supporters of Youth Demand in two teams blocked traffic on Buckingham Palace Road and Waterloo Road. They stepped into the carriageway and unfurled banners reading ‘Youth Demand an End to Genocide’ and ‘Stop Arming Israel’, and let off smoke flares. Police arrived shortly after and issued a warning under Section 7 of the Public Order Act. Both teams left the road after approximately 15 minutes.
The groups then combined and re-emerged at Holborn Circus where they blocked traffic again. The group was stood in the road, all facing traffic. This is where Zahra, 40, from Newcastle was assaulted. She said:
“We were on Holborn crossing. There was a sudden sharp pain at the back of my head, and lights out. I was knocked out and suffered two seizures. I was treated in the back of an Ambulance that arrived. I feel violated, violated that someone came behind me to attack me.
“I think this was an Islamophobic incident. Because I’m visibly Islamic, I’ve got an Niqaab and an Abaya in, its easy to see I’m of faith. I will continue take action with Youth Demand – one prick won’t stop me.”
“I took direct action today as a niqab wearing Muslim woman because marches have not worked. Those of us of Islamic faith have a responsibility to support our brothers and sisters in Palestine. It is time for niqab wearing women to say stop the bombing and slaughter of innocent children. Stop arming Israel. “
None of the other action takers saw who attacked Zahra, as they were all facing in the same direction. A video clip taken shows a man shoving a group of Youth Demand supporters, leaving Zahra with a head injury.
A spokesperson for Youth Demand said:
“The attack on a peaceful Youth Demand supporter today was sickening. Violent prejudice like this is driving the genocide in Gaza. The casual violence and ongoing cruelty we see demonstrates that the elites, politicians, and businesses have openly declared war on a civilian population. Netanyahu, who has a warrant issue for his arrest by the International Criminal Court, is freely travelling the globe while the men, women and children of Gaza are kept in an open air prison and treated as target practice by the Israeli Defence Force. This is what our government is complicit in, they will not protect us, when the storms of the climate crisis are on our threshold, they will not care.”
Mack Preston, 22, a student from Cambridge
“I am taking action with Youth Demand today because I feel that I must. I have no choice but to resist the genocidal UK government, who are determined to raze Palestine to the ground, and to make our planet unlivable. We have a simple choice facing us today: we can comply with our genocidal government and allow them to slaughter Palestinians by the thousands, destroy our planet, and repress our right to protest, or we can resist, take power into our own hands and bring the imperial regime to its knees. I choose to resist.”
Today’s actions come against a backdrop of ongoing atrocities in Gaza and geopolitical uncertainty. President Macron has said that France plans to recognise a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict. [2]
Meanwhile Trump is reportedly pushing Netanyahu to end the Gaza war within weeks as part of a broader Middle East strategy that includes normalization with Saudi Arabia.[3]
Israel has persistently denied that its political leaders or military have committed war crimes during its assault on Gaza, in which it has killed more than 50,000 people, most of them civilians. However, a war crimes complaint against 10 Britons who served with the Israeli military in Gaza was submitted this week to the Met police by one of the UK’s leading human rights lawyers. The UK continues to support genocide by supplying arms, whilst conducting more surveillance flights on behalf of Israel over Gaza than any other country. [4][5]
Young people will not accept these crimes against humanity and we will not be led by war criminals and arsonists. We cannot allow those in power to get away with facilitating the systematic annihilation of an entire culture. It’s time to take to the streets day after day and to demand better. Only sustained mass resistance can put an end to this genocide. Sign up to take action at youthdemand.org.
ENDS
Youth Demand Press contact: 07762 987334
Press email: YouthDemandPress@protonmail.com
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Website: https://youthdemand.org
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Notes to Editors
[1] Youth Demand is a youth-led resistance campaign fighting for an end to genocide in Palestine and across the globe as a result of the climate crisis.
Our demands:
Stop all trade with Israel:the UK government must impose a total trade embargo on Israel.
Make the rich pay: the UK government must raise £1tn by 2030 from the super rich and fossil fuel elite to pay damages to communities and countries most harmed by fossil fuel burning.
Youth Demand is part of Umbrella and a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects.
[3] https://www.palestinechronicle.com/trump-gives-netanyahu-2-3-weeks-to-end-gaza-war-report/
[4]
[5]
UK conducted more surveillance flights over Gaza than any other country, data reveals
