Pro-Palestine protesters occupied the entrance to a Government department building today in a demonstration against what they say is a UK Government "breach of international law and its own weapons export licensing criteria" in supplying Israel with arms.
The protesters, organised by London for a Free Palestine, targeted the Department for Business and Trade earlier this morning.
They staged a distraction involving a cyclist crashing into a pedestrian, before forcing their way past a security guard and sitting on the floor in the entrance to the Government building, chanting "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".
Once the group had been removed from the building by police, demonstrators unfurled a banner which read "stop arming Israel" while wearing black t-shirts emblazoned with the same message.
The group were eventually removed from the Department for Business and Trade by police
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Charity campaigner Zak Suffee, 37, said the group had chosen to stage the sit-in at the department because it was "where the arms contracts are agreed for Israel".
Suffee continued: "Stopping sales to Israel and calling for a ceasefire are big steps that could really help, and by not doing that means that they are actually enabling genocide.
"We have been seeing the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians... It’s really time for the UK Government to actually do something - and this is one very concrete thing that will enable the killing to stop.
"It’s possible that the UK's hands will be tied because they prefer to stay in good favour with America, but I think the right thing to do is call for an arms embargo, make sure that no sales to Israel happen and ideally shut down the arms factories."
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The group then unfurled a banner outside the department building, calling for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel
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Another protestor, Maria, a 35-year-old student from London, said: "We are going here today to the Department for Business and Trade because that's where the licences for arms exports to Israel from the UK are signed and approved.
"The UK has been giving Israel diplomatic, military and economic support, which has enabled it to carry out and continue its genocide and long-term colonisation of Palestine.
She added that Britain was a "massive player in the arms industry" and called for the Government to rein in British-based arms firms, urging Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch to "stop arming Israel and end all arms export licences to Israel".
Maria said: "It is a fallacy to say that we live in a free market where governments have absolutely no power. The Government can make these decisions and can enforce these decisions on the companies."
Protesters staged the occupation this morning in a demonstration against UK weapons delivery to IsraelPAIn response to the protests, a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "It is completely unacceptable to harass civil servants as they go about their jobs and the attempt to enter the department by force cannot be justified in any way.
"We are grateful to the police for their response and swift action.
"We take our defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operate one of the most robust export licensing controls in the world."
This is just the latest pro-Palestine protest to target a British institution this week - on Sunday, hundreds of activists targeted the British Museum in a large-scale demonstration which resulted in the famous landmark to close access to visitors.
