Dudley pro-Palestine march organisers deny they supported Hamas attack
The organisers of Dudley's pro-Palestine march have denied they were chanting pro-Hamas slogans.
Hundreds of protestors descended on Dudley Council House on Monday night, sparking condemnation from councillors, ex-MP Ian Austin and council leader Patrick Harley.
However, Dudley Palestine Solidarity Campaign have issued a statement to the Express & Star denying they were supportive of the attacks on Israel last week.
The statement said: "Councillor Simon Phipps claims that he heard a speaker defending the actions of Hamas. This is not true. Every speaker was at great pains to make clear that we were here to support the people of Gaza. 2.3 million people are being starved of food, water and electricity and at the same time thousands of sophisticated missiles are raining down on them. Over 3000 people, including children have been killed.
"Politicians, both local and national, need to be sure of their facts before repeating spurious allegations. Each speaker made it clear our protest was not against Jewish people but a criticism of what the Israeli government were doing. There was no antisemitic rhetoric. Most politicians have said Israel has a right to defend themselves effectively endorsing their right to break International Law by denying the people of Gaza food water electricity and fuel.
"Our media and government talk as though these horrors started last Saturday when desperation turned into savagery. Palestinians have been living under terror and oppression every single day for 75 years.
"The UN say that Israel operates a system of Apartheid where Palestinians are second class citizens. They live under a brutal occupying force that makes daily life difficult and many Palestinians have been killed. This year 252 have died under Israeli fire before the present slaughter. I do not recall any of our politicians, including Ian Austin, being sufficiently outraged to go to press.
"The councillors do not like the chanting. Do they not think Palestinians have a right to be free or should they stay silent while they are being ethnically cleansed from their homeland?
"We the people of Dudley have a right to be heard and a right to demonstrate in support of the Gazan people. We call upon all people who are horrified by this catastrophe for Palestine to join the demonstration in Birmingham this Saturday October 21."
Conservative councillor Simon Phipps raised the protest at full council. He said: "I was disturbed to hear some chants, and to hear a speaker defending the actions of Hamas in recent days, which is disgusting.
"We may only have a few Jewish residents in this borough but they deserve to live free from fear and from any anti-Semitism rhetoric on the streets of Dudley."
Dudley Council leader Councillor Patrick Harley said: "This council stands 100 per cent behind Israel's right to defend its borders. I never thought I'd see scenes like what we saw in the last week. Animals would not do that to each other."
