Activists take part in national School Strike for Palestine

Activists from across Scotland have taken part in a national School Strike for Palestine, calling for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza.

As well as school pupils, trade unionists and educational institutions were among those to join demonstrators at George Square in Glasgow, in front of the City Chambers, in a call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Students and staff from the universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and the West of Scotland were among those to join the demonstration at 12pm on Wednesday.

The action was organised by the Glasgow Stop the War Coalition, which posted on its social media sites: “Every collective act, big or small, sends a message to those who are suffering in Gaza that we are with them and puts pressure on our government to call on the Israeli government to stop bombing Gaza.”

Shabbir Lakha, Stop the War Coalition officer and one of the organisers of the School Strike for Palestine, said: “Over a week since the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent acts of genocide and to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the provision of basic services and humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, the mass killing of Palestinians – many thousands of them children – continues.

“Schools and universities have been clamping down on students for supporting the people of Gaza, including referring them to the Government’s counter-terrorism programme Prevent, which is an outrageous attack on their democratic rights and civil liberties.

“It is little wonder that young people up and down the country are determined to make their voices heard.

“We encourage children and adults from all communities to attend Wednesday’s events, and to use their voices to speak for safety, freedom and peace for all.”

Some campaigners occupied Glasgow’s Queen Street Station as part of the activity on Wednesday, carrying a banner reading: “End the siege of Gaza”, and chanting: “Israel out of the West Bank, Israel out of Gaza, Israel out of Palestine,” videos posted on social media showed.