Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through Belfast city centre on Saturday afternoon, disrupting traffic and shoppers as they targeted businesses they claim support Israel's military operation in Gaza. The demonstration moved systematically through the commercial district to voice opposition to the ongoing conflict.
Organisers led chants outside specific company buildings including Starbucks, Barclays, Axa and Leonardo Hotels, accusing these businesses of supporting genocide. The protesters focused their demonstration on companies they believe have connections to Israeli interests or operations.
Worker boycott campaign intensifies
During speeches held outside the BBC Northern Ireland offices, demonstrators heard calls for workers to refuse handling Israeli products from 18th September. Patricia McKeown from Trade Union Friends of Palestine announced an intensified campaign targeting employees across multiple sectors.
"Starting on the 18th from that day onwards, we want workers to refuse to handle any Israeli goods or services they are engaged with in whatever type of place they work in, that might be the public service and the civil service, that might be the health service, that might be education, that is definitely industry, that is definitely retail," McKeown said. She emphasised that mobilisation must happen "on the ground and in the workplace" for effective action.
Trade Union Friends of Palestine and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have held emergency meetings with European BDS coordinators to coordinate the worker action. McKeown stressed the importance of supporting workers who take action through product refusal.
Specific boycott targets named
Rossa Coyle of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign called for boycotts of Caterpillar, which provides bulldozers used in occupied Palestinian territories, and Teva, an Israeli pharmaceutical multinational. "Ask your GPs, ask your pharmacist to mark your records 'no Teva products'. Boycott Teva," she urged demonstrators.
Dr Ashraf Abouharb, a Palestinian living in Belfast, described the situation in Gaza as facing "utter and discriminate destruction" that is being "completely ignored" by Israel and their allies. He appealed to business leaders and workers to take action based on their morals and conscience.
Abouharb provided historical context for the protesters' commitment, stating: "The Palestinian people, my family and their families and all of that, made a mistake in 1948 by being displaced and going away from their homeland. And they said to me that 'we are not repeating this mistake by leaving this land'. We have to live (up) to their commitment by continuing to fight on their behalf and continuing to fight for them until Gaza is free and Palestine is free."
Palestine Action references emerge
Some protesters made subtle references to Palestine Action, though organisers avoided major references to the group which has been deemed a proscribed organisation by the UK Government. Three women were observed wearing t-shirts bearing the separate words "I Support", "Palestine" and "Action".
In central London, tensions flared during a separate pro-Palestine demonstration when elderly people were arrested for sitting behind placards reading "I support Palestine Action". The arrests highlighted ongoing controversy surrounding the proscribed organisation.
Demonstrations across Ireland
A pro-Palestine demonstration took place in Dublin, with crowds marching from the US embassy to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Additional protests occurred in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Carlow and Navan, all organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
