Demo Speech - February 21st
The horror in Palestine continues unabated.
Since that misnamed 'ceasefire', over 600 people have been killed & 2500 structures demolished in Gaza
Even though the Rafah crossing has been opened, returning Palestinians are handcuffed, blindfolded and led to Israeli interrogators who threaten them with detention, imprisonment, and transfer to Israeli prisons. “What are you doing in Gaza? Why did you return?” the soldiers asked. “If you don’t answer within the given time, we will arrest you, and you will never see your children again… You will never enter Gaza. Gaza belongs to us now.”
Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank, supported by Israeli security forces, have surged dramatically. Fueled by the Israeli government’s extremist leadership and its unabashed vision of Jewish domination “from the River to the Sea,” the relentless destruction - of homes, forced evictions, and dispossession - have intensified, deliberately strangling Palestinian livelihoods. Over 1000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023 & that number continues to rise.
The Israeli government is currently bringing in measures that will repeal restrictions on land sales to Israeli settlers, revive a state land acquisition committee to expand settlements and extend Israeli enforcement into Palestinian administered areas. What amounts to complete annexation.
And then there is the heinous proposed new law going through the Knesset seeking to bring in capital punishment only for Arabs. The way they will frame this is by making capital punishment the punishment for terrorism, but there can be no such thing as a Jewish terrorist.
These are just scratching the surface of the context in which Palestinians live, and the context in which both Palestinian Muslims and Christians, are observing the holy month of Ramadan and the sacred season of Lent. Both seasons overlap this year and both started this last week. In Bethlehem, this is more than a calendar coincidence. It is a lived reality — visible in homes, mosques, and churches.
What makes this moment especially powerful is the interfaith dimension. In Bethlehem, Muslim and Christian communities do not observe these seasons separately from one another. Neighbours exchange iftar invitations. Churches and mosques echo prayers within walking distance. Shared hardship has deepened shared responsibility for each other.
A friend of mine sent this reflection by Said Zarzar, a Palestinian who lives in Jerusalem
This year, our fasts meet.
Lent & Ramadan walk side by side on the
same land, under the same sky.
Palestinian Christians & Muslims fast together,
not only from food & drink, but from despair.
We fast with intention, with prayer, with a
shared vision of dignity, freedom,
& an end to occupation.
Our hunger becomes a prayer.
Our patience becomes resistance.
Our unity becomes strength.
Different rituals, one people.
Different prayers, one hope.
Different paths, the same cause.
May this shared fast, purify our hearts, deepen our solidarity
& bring us closer to the justice
we believe in & deserve.
They are not giving up & neither are we. Let us keep the pressure up on our own government and keep writing to our MPs
At the very least we need to call for:
Further sanctions to be placed on Israel immediately.
A complete ban on all trade with settlements - It is morally inconsistent for the UK to say settlements are illegal and continue allowing trade with those settlements, especially after having recognised Palestine as a state.
Suspend the UK’s free trade agreement with Israel – given its major and continuous breaches of international law.
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