Palestine Protest in Broadgate Square
A pro-Palestine demonstration began at 5pm in Broadgate Square yesterday, as swathes of people attended to protest the UK governments continued support of the Isreali government, who recently broke the two month long ceasefire by firing more bombs and missiles into Gaza on early Tuesday, blaming Hamas for breaking the ceasefire first.
The protest, organised by the Coventry Palestine Solidarity Campaign (CPSC), was an “emergency protest” according to their website, and announced on Tuesday, likely in response to the new outbreak of violence perpetrated by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and condoned by U.S. President Donald Trump. The attack on Tuesday has seen at least 429 Palestinians according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which makes it one of the deadliest days of the conflict since it began in October 2023.
Hamas was blamed for the attack by Israeli President, Benjamin Netenyahu, due to not releasing any of the remaining hostages during the second phase of negotiations, which was meant to see the handover of all remaining hostages held by Hamas (believed to be 59 by Israel) whilst the IDF would withdraw from Gaza. However these agreements stalled after Israel reinstated its aid blockages after the first phase of the ceasefire saw the aid blockade lifted.
The PSC spoke out about this apparent hypocrisy on Tuesday following news of the conflict restarting.
"The 17-month long genocide in Gaza never ended. During the two-month ceasefire, Israel repeatedly violated the agreement, killing 150 Palestinians in Gaza by drone strikes and sniper fire, while simultaneously causing starvation by imposing a complete blockade. Now, it has torn the agreement to shreds – dismantling it in front of the eyes of the world."
The Coventry Palestine Solidarity Campaign appeared at 5pm yesterday and protest speeches went on for an hour
During yesterday's protest there was chanting of "Free! Free! Palestine!" and claimed "We need people to come out and say to this government enough is enough. We've had enough"