London protest demand Israel end attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Hundreds of demonstrators staged a protest Friday outside the Israeli Embassy in London against attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem.

The emergency protest was called for by various NGOs and Palestinian solidarity campaign groups, including Friends of Al Aqsa, Palestinian Forum in Britain and Stop the War Coalition.

Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and Jewish Voice for Labors were among the participants.

Decrying recent Israeli attacks on Palestine, the crowd chanted slogans in solidarity with Palestinians, including, "Free Palestine."

Along with Palestinian flags, protesters were carrying signs that read: "Stop arming Israel", "End Israeli Apartheid", "Sanctions on Israel" and "Gaza, end the siege."

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PCS), told the crowd they are there again because of the "brutal" attacks by Israel against Palestinians.

"We are here because once again Israel is bombing Palestinians in Gaza and we are here because, since the beginning of 2023, Israel has been massacring Palestinians," he said.

Saudah Badat, from the Friends of Al Aqsa, said Israeli forces again attacked Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy month of Ramadan.

"Attacking any place of worship should be considered an act of terror," she said.

Criticizing media reports' representation of what is happening in the region, she stressed that it is not a clash, or a conflict between equal sides --rather it is brutal attacks of "apartheid policies."

The Israeli army launched a series of airstrikes early Friday on targets in Gaza, saying they were targets of the Hamas group.

Tension has been running high in the past few days following Israel's assaults on worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.