Pro-Palestinian protesters in UK hold vigil for 5-year-old killed in Israel raid on Gaza

LONDON: Pro-Palestinian protesters held a demonstration in East London against Israel’s ongoing aggression on the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip, organizers said.People gathered at Altab Ali park for a vigil for the occupied enclave after Israeli defense forces killed a five-year-old Palestinian girl, along with at least 15 others in the past two days, the UK-based Friends of Al-Aqsa said.Israel has said it was necessary to launch a “pre-emptive” operation against Islamic Jihad, saying the group was planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.Health authorities in the Palestinian enclave, which is controlled by Hamas, said a five-year-old girl was among 15 people killed since Friday, adding that more than 140 have been wounded.”This followed a day of street action as individuals from London to Glasgow pledged to boycott Coca-Cola as part of FOA’s latest #NotInMyFridge National Pledge,” the non-profit organization said. “Anti-apartheid activists distributed #NIMF leaflets at food hubs across the country, including at Coca-Cola’s first European flagship store which was recently opened to the public in Covent Garden.”Pro-Palestinian activists also protested against the “ongoing administrative detention of Khalil Awawdeh,” while a mock bride and groom urged people not to serve Coca-Cola at their weddings.”We need consistent campaigning to hold companies to account for their complicity in Israel’s murdering of Palestinians,” said Shamiul Joarder, head of Public Affairs at FOA.”It’s time to make a simple pledge and support Palestine by boycotting Coca-Cola,” he said. “We’re asking people to pledge that Coca-Cola won’t be in their fridges for summer barbecues, parties and weddings,” adding: “Our good times must not come with the taste of apartheid and at the expense of Palestinian rights.”FOA claims that “Coca-Cola has long been criticized for its complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid.”It says it operates in the town of Atarot, north of Jerusalem, which is “an illegal Israeli settlement built on land stolen from Palestinians. Atarot operates in violation of international law, and FOA’s campaign urges Coca-Cola to changes its ways.”