Category: Gaza

An Israeli and a Palestinian debate


Debate between the two at the Festival of Humanism over the weekend

June 2026

So popular was this debate that many couldn’t get in so it was repeated the following day in a bigger hall. The two speakers were Yaniv Aknin who is a British-Israeli software engineer currently working in London. He was born and raised in Israel but left in 2013. Jasr Kawkby is a British-Palestinian paediatrician currently working in East London. He was raised as a Muslim in Palestine.

It would be usual in a write-up of this kind to discuss what A said then to discuss B, making clear thereby who said what. We will not do this in this instance and just discuss what was said by both. These are some of the points made:

  • It was pure chance where you were born and whether you were Moslem, Christian or Jew.
  • Language was important. To call what happened a ‘war of independence’ was quite wrong. It was a colonial war. To live in a land where the ‘natives’ were expelled and prevented from returning was morally wrong.
  • Armed resistance has made life more difficult for those it seeks to support. It has alienated foreign support.
  • Suffering has been inflicted on those with no responsibility for the plight of Jews [in history].
  • Israel must stop its barbaric actions [for example] denying food aid in Gaza and must respect the rights of Palestinian prisoners in Jewish gaols.
  • [In answer to a question] the conflict was about land: religion was very much a secondary factor. It was however a complicating factor.
  • Zionism was a wrong ideology.
  • Most destruction of human life was by Israeli forces [meaning the IDF from other comments he made].
  • Pressure should be applied to Israel until it complies with human rights. We must recognise the oppression of Palestinians.
  • The lack of unconditional support from the West seen as a betrayal or anti-Semitism.
  • Religion was a catalyst for violence: how can we spread non-religious ideas? [This was a Humanist conference].
  • We should not be selling arms to Israel.

You might believe some of the answers are obviously from one ‘side’ or the other. You may well be wrong. There were in fact some surprises. This is to illustrate that there are those from the region – whether Jew or Moslem – who see both sides and recognise some of the wrongs that are committed. Because so much air time is given to extremists, we can be led to believe that they are representative of the population as a whole. It demonstrates that perhaps there is some chance in the future for some kind of reconciliation. The interference by outside forces – discussed in our last post in relation to the Gulf – is a factor in the perpetuation of violence.

Images: Yaniv (top); Jasr (lower)

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Vigil number 130


Vigil No. 130 held in the wet. High level of support

June 2026

It was a damp and windy evening so we retreated to the steps of the Library for our vigil this week attended by around 25. Notable this time was the high level of support from passers by one even presenting us with a box of chocolates. Others gave us the thumbs up, took a photo on their phone or smiled in recognition of our efforts. It has been some weeks now since we have experienced a negative reaction.

It would be good to report progress with a ceasefire or some kind of improvement in the political climate. Of this there

is no sign. The situation in Gaza remains dire. The death toll (there are various estimates) is at over 73,107; of which 12,500 are women and there have been 173,000 injuries, some serious. A harrowing interview was aired on Channel 4 last week of a boy who was paralysed by shrapnel from the waist down from a tank shell. He is no longer able to play football with his friends. Harrowing footage was also aired on the BBC of an infant shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Hebron.

Wes Streeting, one of the possible contenders to become the new prime minister, has been forceful about the failure of the Labour party to call out what is happening in the region. He has been particularly critical of Sir Keir Starmer’s infamous interview on LBC in which he said Israel had the right to cut off water and power to Gaza. Attempts to deny this at the time were unconvincing.

The attacks on Lebanon are following a similar pattern with the demolition of villages and the destruction of entire blocks of flats in Tyre and elsewhere. The Times of Israel reports that over 3,000 have died in the current conflict. There is supposed to be a ‘ceasefire’. Hezbollah continue to fire rockets into Israel.

A difference with this conflict however is that there is coverage from outside media which contrasts with Gaza where they are banned. There is first hand footage and interviews with residents not possible in Gaza. This might make a difference as it enables images to be shown of the devastation which was not possible in Gaza.

A resolution to the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel is not yet in view.

Picture taken at start of the vigil – more came during the vigil.

Once again we note the continued absence of the local MP Mr John Glen from the vigils together with any mention of them in his weekly Salisbury Journal column. He along with – shamefully – a large number of MPs from all of the main parties, is a member of one of the Friends of Israel groups, believed to be the largest and best funded of all the Parliamentary lobby organisations.

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The tragedy only gets worse


The steady destruction of Lebanon continues while the world looks on

May 2026

The systematic destruction of large parts of southern Lebanon continues apace and on Wednesday, Israel ordered the evacuation of the city of Tyre a city of 200,000 inhabitants. Beirut has be hit by multiple missile and drone strikes which the IDF claim are targeted. It is interesting to note that news media are putting the word ‘targeted’ in inverted commas: progress of sorts.

It is a tragedy that shows no sign of an end. Death and destruction in Gaza with Netanyahu now saying they want to annex 70% of the territory from the 50% they control now. Nearly 73,000 have died there and many thousands more injured. The tragedy of the West Bank where settlers are attacking Arab and Palestinian homes, attacking people and destroying trees and crops. It is a tragedy in south Lebanon where more killing is taking place, white phosphorous is being used and entire villages erased from the map. The attack on Iran is a tragedy with much destruction and many deaths.

The West’s response has been feeble, the UK’s particularly so. Weapons are still being provided to Israel and RAF flights continue. The appalling treatment of the flotilla and those on board drew only a muted response from our government. Israel continues to act with impunity and seems if anything to be ratcheting up the violence. They have successfully put the US in an extremely difficult position. Trump is desperate to secure a deal with Iran which many believe Israel does not want. The lack of a concerted response by the UK and a willingness to follow in the wake of the US and President Trump is a tragedy all of itself.

Part of the UK’s pusillanimous response is because so many of the government’s MPs and many other MPs from other parties are members of the Friends of Israel groups, the best funded of lobby organisations in parliament. If you read the link to the Canary you will see the comment: ‘Finally, this raises serious questions about whose interests these officials actually work for. In turn, a serious long-felt concern is brought to the forefront: is the UK government occupied by Israel? This is precisely the question we asked of the Salisbury MP, Mr John Glen, who is a ‘proud member’ of the Conservative Friends of Israel. Who are you representing, many people in Salisbury who find the violence to be abhorrent and counter productive, or, the Israeli government? He said he would not dignify the question with an answer.

Another tragedy is that it will not, in the long run, improve Israel’s security. By simply bombing, destroying villages and parts of towns, incarcerating thousands of Palestinians in appalling conditions – it is merely creating resentments and hatreds for the future. This has to be the ultimate tragedy for the country. Of particular concern is that violence has become embedded into the psyche of the country – a kind of first response to problems is the send for the military and bomb somewhere. Perhaps John Steinbeck’s quote is apposite: ‘All war is a symptom of man failure as a thinking animal‘.

Vigil 130

Which is why the vigils in Salisbury continue but with no sight of the local MP. The public responses are now uniformly positive with thumbs up and a few stopping by. The rights of almost all those living in the region have been compromised.

Sources: Palestine News, Al Jazeera, (various)

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A damp vigil


A reduced number at the latest vigil, No 128, held in the wet

May 2026

Well it still goes on. There was a report on the Channel 4 news ostensibly about a ceasefire in Lebanon followed by footage of bomb damage from the latest raids. Surreal. One wonders if there ever will be a ceasefire so belligerent are the various parties and so deep the hatreds. Things could be better if the US curbed its seemingly unconditional supply of weapons and support for Israel.

In his latest book Israel, What Went Wrong (Fern Press, 2026) the Jewish academic Omer Bartov writes:

“By what bitter cunning of history have we come to the point that not even eight decades after the Jewish state was established in 1948 – the same year in the genocide convention was adopted by the United Nations in direct response the Nazi extermination of European Jewry – Israel engages for two years in a genocidal undertaking with almost total impunity from the very international legal regime set up after World War II to prevent and punish this crime?”

Eurovision

The Eurovision song contest was held on Saturday and Israel came second to Bulgaria the winners. Five countries boycotted the contest because of Israel’s presence and there have been protests in Vienna. Coming second to Bulgaria it represents a triumph for the country despite the protests. Ireland did not to participate and RTÉ said in December that it felt Ireland’s participation would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”. It also said it was deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and by Israel’s barring of international journalists from the territory. At least 235 journalists have been killed there making it the most dangerous place in the world for them to work.

It is nonetheless troubling that the Israeli entrant could perform so well with reports that the voting was ‘nail-biting’ with a chance that Israel could have won. This despite the terrible events going on in the region. The European Broadcasting Union insists the contest is not political. Last year, there were reports of aggressive marketing by Israel to help secure its second place.

Most media have simply reported the results with discussions about the merits of the performances. So we are indebted to the New York Times who have investigated the Israeli contestant and reveal that the country has invested heavily to the tune of $1 million to promote him. The full story is worth a read and reveals the extent they went to achieve their success. Further details in this Al Jazeera story. Looking at the BBC coverage for example, there is no hint of this activity leaving readers or viewers none the wiser about what happened. The British entrant got the dreaded ‘nul point’ for a second year.

Around 20 attended the vigil on Saturday, down from recent ones but People in the Park kept many away as did the weather. As ever, no sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen who is a proud supporter of Conservative Friends of Israel.

Sources: Politico, Irish Times, International Federation of Journalists, NY Times.

Photo from the vigil courtesy of Peter Gloyns

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125 and counting …


The vigils continue while terrible events take place in the Middle East

April 2026

Over 30 attended our 125th vigil – an activity which we started with no intention of it lasting so long. But the violence continues, homes are being systematically destroyed in southern Lebanon, much of Gaza has been destroyed and the killings and starvation continue. So there is no let up and people need to be reminded of the terrible events which are taking place in the region and the suffering which is happening. The British government tries to play a double game of saying the right things and condemning the violence, but quietly continues to offer support and weapons to Israel.

Of interest is an article in the Observer newspaper concerning Forensic Architecture which forensically analyses and documents using architectural techniques, human rights abuses around the world. It was founded by a Jewish man Eyal Weizman who has just written a book Ungrounding: The Architecture of Genocide (Fern Press, pub. available on May 7th).  

He has devoted time to the genocide taking place in Gaza and his forensic methods enable a high degree of certainty to the crimes they describe. As usual with those pointing to these crimes, he has suffered de-platforming and the familiar accusations of anti-Semitism. This is especially inappropriate as not only is he a Jew but lost people ‘connected to my family’ as he put it, on October 7th massacre.

It is a long article but a particularly moving passages are:

“FA has also worked at a larger scale, mapping the pattern of expulsions driven by Israeli forces. On 13 October 2023, thousands of leaflets fell on Gaza City, telling residents to move out of what was now a “battlefield”.

“People were given 24 hours to evacuate. For some pro-Israeli commentators, this was a sign of humanity; that the IDF gave people the chance to avoid obliteration. Weizman calls the leaflets “some of the most lethal things to have fallen on Gaza”.

“They were the beginning of a pattern whereby people would be forced into hazardous journeys east and south towards the most barren parts of the [Gaza] strip, to the dunes where they would struggle to survive. Some would be attacked en route.

“Undergrounding tells how Israeli forces also attacked hospitals, schools, universities, mosques and churches. They destroyed orchards, farms, greenhouses, fishing boats, water desalination plants and wells. They polluted the land and the sea. They killed almost all the cattle, sheep, goats and poultry, blocked aid and attacked people who tried to receive it.

“According to Weizman “they engineered famine”. […]

He discusses the defence that Hamas are hiding in these facilities and therefore the destruction is justified. However, he argues that the scale of destruction show an intent that can only be called genocidal.

NGO Monitor the Jerusalem based organisation, says FA “through slick graphic presentations, [it] creates a façade of credibility to mask analyses that are consistently misleading, blatantly biased and based on unverifiable ‘evidence’,” (Israel does not allow independent journalists into Gaza).

May we draw your attention to the local CND website which has a number of posts of interest. Of particular note is the piece Murder Most Foul concerning the death of another journalist Amil Khalil and the practice of ‘double tapping’ that is after a bombing or missile attack waiting for medical staff to appear and mounting a second attack. In this case medical help was denied. The story was covered on Channel 4. At least 226 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7th making it the deadliest conflict in history.

72,344 have died in Gaza and over 172,000 injured, many of whom are children.

No sign of the local MP, Mr John Glen, who is a member of the well-funded Conservative Friends of Israel group and indeed, told the readers of the Salisbury Journal that he was a ‘proud member’ of the group.

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Photo: courtesy of Peter Gloyns

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Vigil No 120 attracts strong support


The need for the vigil as strong as ever

March 2026

Middle East violence continues. Over 1,000 dead as Lebanon attacked. Al Jazeera reports over 1,500 dead in Iran with many injured and 18 killed in Israel. The economic effects promise to be catastrophic with many economies under great strain if the hostilities continue. Killing continues in Gaza where the death toll is put at 72,268.

Ammendment

The bombing by US Tomahawks of the Minab school in Iran has received coverage in the UK. Around 175 were killed the majority of whom were girls. A moving video has been produced by protestors at Fairford in Gloucestershire from where the bombers took off. It was claimed by the prime minister that UK facilities could only be used for defensive purposes. President Trump claimed it was done by the Iranians themselves. As they do not have this weapon this is virtually impossible. Added 25 March.

Violence in the West Bank is increasing and some suggest it is because the world’s attention is focused on the current hostilities in Iran and the closure of the straight of Hormuz. This enables Palestinian villages to be attacked by settlers. There is however, an interesting report in Haaretz who say that JD Vance, the American vice president, ‘castigated Benyamin Netanyahu’ over the increased settler violence since the Iran war started. Trump promised action to the Arab nations about this violence but does not appear to have done anything.

Lebanon is under attack including the capital Beirut. The Defence minister Israel Katz is quoted in the Jewish Chronicle as saying: “hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon who evacuated northward will not return south of the Litani River until security for the residents of the north [of Israel] is ensured“. It would appear from some statements from Israeli politicians and military people that the occupation of southern Lebanon may be permanent: “the Litani [river] must be our new border with the state of Lebanon, just like the ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza and like the buffer zone and peak of the Hermon in Syria,” Katz added, in reference to the current IDF deployment to Gaza and the Israeli presence in southwestern Syria.

‘There are no innocent children in Jenin’ a member of the Knesset said following a Palestinian family gunned down on the West Bank (source: Haaretz).

Golders Green violence

Four ambulances belonging to Hatzolah in Golders Green were set on fire and destroyed on 23rd March causing immense distress to the Jewish community in the area. The reasons for the attack or who committed the crime is unknown at present and the police are investigating. UPDATE: 27 March: two men have been arrested (26th inst) according to the Metropolitan Police.

Salisbury vigil

People are still disturbed by the continuing violence, the attacks on Iran by Israel and the US, and how the conflict is widening. There was strong attendance at the latest vigil. Deaths, including many civilian deaths and starvation, continue in Gaza, the war has spread to Lebanon and Iran as already noted. Although we do not know the precise objectives of the Iranian attacks, there were speeches by President Trump and other senior cabinet members which suggested regime change was one hope. This does not look likely now.

120 vigils and no sign of the local MP Mr John Glen and no mention of them in his weekly column in the local paper. In a letter to the Salisbury Journal (19 March) he said he was a ‘proud member’ of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.

Sources: Al Jazeera, Jewish Chronicle, Haaretz, Middle East Eye, Guardian

A video of the vigil can be seen here – courtesy of Peter Gloyns.

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Yet more violence in the Middle East


Vigil continues with Israeli and US attacks on Iran

March 2026

For 118 weeks now, we have held a vigil in Salisbury with the theme peace in the Middle East. Around 30 attended yesterday (7 March) and the hope must be that one day it would end. Any such hopes were dashed last week when Israel led an attack on Tehran and other Iranian cities followed by the Americans. They claim that all Iranian air defences are destroyed together with their air force and navy. The attacks continue and Israel has now restarted its attacks on Lebanon.

The objectives of the latest campaign are unclear. One aspect is to destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions which President Trump has already claimed were destroyed. The other is to enable regime change and initially that appears to have happened because the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and his top aids, were tracked to a location enabling them to be assassinated. There was a hope that the people of Iran would rise up and evict the regime.

Thus the violence has continued and taken on a new life. There have been many implications well aired in the press: retaliation from Iran and its dramatic effects on the Gulf states, the closure of the Straights of Hormuz with its effects on oil and gas prices and the closure of the important air hub at Dubai. International stock markets have fallen and energy prices have risen dramatically.

It has also had ramifications for UK politics basically between those who think we should support Israel and the US and those who do not think yet more bombing and violence is a way to conduct foreign affairs. Arguments have surfaced about Britain’s role in offering support via its bases in Fairford Gloucestershire, Cyprus and the Indian Ocean. Initially denied, within days they were made available to the Americans.

The most damaging feature of this latest violence is the erosion of international law. Attacks on foreign states has rapidly become normal behaviour. As ever, it is not the leaders and politicians who suffer, but those at the receiving end of missile, drone and bombing attacks.

“The escalating crisis in the Middle East poses a grave threat to multilateralism and to the integrity of the international legal order. Unlawful acts by parties to the conflict, particularly those committed by influential states, not only endanger civilians across multiple countries, but also accelerate the erosion of the global norms that are essential for the protection of human rights and global peace and security.” Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International. (March 3rd)

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Palestine Action centre of the news


115th vigil took place following a momentous week in the courts

February 2026

We discussed in a previous post the High Court’s decision that the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action was disproportionate. The ban on them has not been lifted as the government seemed determined to appeal and some experts say the Appeal Court may overturn it. The government seem passionate about supressing dissent on this matter – obsessive even – and the possible reasons for this will be discussed in a future post.

Around 30 attended the 115th vigil yesterday and the ‘recognition factor’ by passers-by was higher than usual probably because it was light, Over 50 took note and a few took pictures. A video can be viewed here, with thanks to Peter Gloyns.

Once again we note that the local MP, Mr John Glen has failed to put in an appearance and despite 115 vigils attended by hundreds of his constituents, has never once mentioned them in his weekly Salisbury Journal column. He is a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, thought to be the largest and best funded of all the lobby organisations in parliament. Although the Conservatives are the largest of such groups, other parties have members as well. It goes some way to explaining why there is silence on the question of genocide in Gaza and little noise about settler violence in the West Bank.

An interesting event took place on the BBC’s Any Questions? programme on Saturday 14th February. Perhaps the programme should be relabelled ‘Some Questions‘ because one audience member stood up and asked “What does the panel think about the BBC not expressing the truth about the genocide in Palestine?” This was not the question she had submitted on the card so it was hastily ignored and the original question about the High Court’s decision discussed instead. It seemed to reveal a BBC deeply nervous of the whole issue of Gaza. A question about the BBC’s poor record would almost certainly never have been allowed. There were a number of disturbances from the audience during the programme talked over by the presenter Alex Forsyth.

“Valentine’s gift to every thug and anti-Semite”

A large part of the ensuing Any Answers? focused on the Palestine Action decision. Most were in favour of the judgement and a handful not. Overall, it seems that the public finds the decision to call them a terrorist organisation over the top. This view is not supported by the Daily Mail among others who concludes that the decision is a ‘Valentine’s gift to every thug and anti-Semite who cheerleads for Palestine Action‘. It found the decision ‘baffling’ and quotes a government source saying it was ‘bonkers’ [accessed 15th February]. It correctly notes that the decision could go the the Supreme Court and take months to decide.

Image courtesy of Peter Gloyns

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Latest vigil – number 114


Modest turnout on a wet and cold evening

February 2026

Around 25 turned out for the 114th vigil on a wet and cold evening in Salisbury. We continue because there is no sign of a real prospect of peace in the Middle East and people continue to die in Gaza. The death toll has risen to 72,027 according to the Peninsular with Israeli strikes continuing in the territory. The so called Board of Peace is to hold its next meeting in Washington on 19th of this month with no Palestinians present Al Jazeera reports. Over 500 have now been killed since the peace process began.

Attempts to allow foreign journalists into Gaza to document evidence there have failed yet again. The Foreign Press Association has been engaged in a fruitless campaign for around 4 years now and the Israeli Supreme Court has decided to defer a decision yet again. It has postponed making a decision 10 times and finally ran out of patience. However, it allowed the Israeli lawyer to present their evidence in closed session. There are criticisms of the FPA for endlessly pursuing these applications when it is clear an enfeebled court is never going to allow foreign journalists in.

Three journalists from the Egyptian Committee for Gaza Relief were possibly murdered by an IDF airstrike according to +972 despite being some distance from the yellow line and in a clearly marked car. The IDF claim that the ‘suspects were operating a drone affiliated to Hamas’ which seems extremely unlikely but without independent evidence it is hard to be sure.

“We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state” Bezalel Smotrich Finance minister

This follows the recent decision by the Israeli cabinet to ease restrictions on Jewish people acquiring land on the West Bank in contravention of the Oslo Accords. The process of acquiring land by Jewish people will be governed by an element of the IDF and the need to go through the civil administration will no longer be necessary. The decision has drawn a rare condemnation from JD Vance.

A positive message to come out of the endless horror of death and destruction comes from the West England Bylines which is a citizen’s journalist outlet and contains a poem by Lama Kuhail:

In Gaza’s Streets, where pain does flow,
A wounded land, the world must know.
Through darkened skies and broken ground,
A son of courage still resounds.
With every tear and every fight,
They chase the dawn,
Defy the night.

A video of the vigil with thanks to Peter Gloyns for permission to post it. Picture shows wet attendees!

Article by Salisbury group member published in West England Bylines.

Sources: +972, The Peninsular, Haaretz, West England Bylines, Al Jazeera

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Book review: Complicit


Review of Peter Oborne’s book Complicit

February 2026

We were pleased to host a talk last month by the author and journalist Peter Oborne about his new book Complicit: Britain’s role in the Destruction of Gaza. A detailed and hard-hitting review has been published by the British Palestine Project and is a recommended read. It amplifies the severe criticism of the BBC for its many failings in its reporting and in particular, never inviting acknowledged Jewish experts to be interviewed and almost completely failing to report on the hundreds of RAF flights which have taken place over Gaza the purpose of which is unclear.

It is also extremely critical of the British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and contrasts his activities as a human rights lawyer and his highly questionable support for Israel now. Other parts of our media come in for criticism as well.

Britain’s role in Israel’s murderous campaign in Gaza.

Image from the BPP

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