"Let's unify our efforts. Stop the Slaughter in Gaza. Hold the British government to account. Freedom for Palestine."
Gaza placards for demonstrations (A4 to blow up to A3) (PDF doc!)
For 18 months my people in Gaza have been under siege, incarcerated inside the world's biggest prison, sealed off from land, air and sea, caged and starved, denied even medication for our sick. After the slow death policy came the bombardment. In this most densely populated of places, nothing has been spared Israel's warplanes, from government buildings to homes, mosques, hospitals, schools and markets. More than 540 have been killed and thousands permanently maimed. A third are women and children. Whole families have been massacred, some while they slept.
This river of blood is being shed under lies and false pretexts. For six months we in Hamas observed the ceasefire. Israel broke it repeatedly from the start. Israel was required to open crossings to Gaza, and extend the truce to the West Bank. It proceeded to tighten its deadly siege of Gaza, repeatedly cutting electricity and water supplies. The collective punishment did not halt, but accelerated - as did the assassinations and killings. Thirty Gazans were killed by Israeli fire and hundreds of patients died as a direct effect of the siege during the so-called ceasefire. Israel enjoyed a period of calm. Our people did not.
When this broken truce neared its end, we expressed our readiness for a new comprehensive truce in return for lifting the blockade and opening all Gaza border crossings, including Rafah. Our calls fell on deaf ears. Yet still we would be willing to begin a new truce on these terms following the complete withdrawal of the invading forces from Gaza.
No rockets have ever been fired from the West Bank. But 50 died and hundreds more were injured there last year at Israel's hands, while its expansionism proceeded relentlessly. We are meant to be content with shrinking scraps of territory, a handful of cantons at Israel's mercy, enclosed by it from all sides.The truth is Israel seeks a one-sided ceasefire, observed by my people alone, in return for siege, starvation, bombardment, assassinations, incursions and colonial settlement. What Israel wants is a gratuitous ceasefire.
The logic of those who demand that we stop our resistance is absurd. They absolve the aggressor and occupier - armed with the deadliest weapons of death and destruction - of responsibility, while blaming the victim, prisoner and occupied. Our modest, home-made rockets are our cry of protest to the world. Israel and its American and European sponsors want us to be killed in silence. But die in silence we will not.
What is being visited on Gaza today was visited on Yasser Arafat before. When he refused to bow to Israel's dictates, he was imprisoned in his Ramallah headquarters, surrounded by tanks for two years. When this failed to break his resolve, he was murdered by poisoning.
The weekend march – part of a coordinated international protest – drew large crowds, although police and organisers disagreed on the exact number.
Problems occurred when a section of the protest split from the main group to demonstrate outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington.
Accounts differ, but somehow thousands of demonstrators found themselves in an underground tunnel by Hyde Park Corner being baton-charged by police.
"It was like the scene from [a] battle," Respect MP George Galloway told politics.co.uk.
"There were scores of people on the ground, mainly women and children. They were screaming and crying. On the second charge I myself was knocked over.
"I was surrounded by women and children begging me to ask police to stop," he continued.
"I took my gloves off and walked forward with my hands up. I made for the oldest policeman, assuming he was more senior. But before I could say a single word he slammed my in the chest with his shield and held up his baton as if to hit me with it."
There is a strong disagreement between police and activists about who made the first move.
The official statement from the Metropolitan police said: "As police were attempting to facilitate people through in a controlled manner a small number of people attempted to push through police lines, threw missiles at officers and attempted to drag officers into the crowd of demonstrators."
It continued: "A number of stewards and other protestors attempted to calm the situation. Officers made one 10m advance into the crowd to regain control of the protest, using recognised and proportionate tactics."
Mr Galloway admitted there was some provocation from demonstrators but questioned the proportionality of the police response.
"There were youths wearing masks and they were throwing placards, which are bad if they get you in the eye but not exactly molotov cocktails, and police of course were wearing armour and so on."
John Rees, co-founder of the Stop the War Coalition and a steward on the march agreed.
"I was in the tunnel as well," he told politics.co.uk.
"It was one of the most dangerous pieces of policing I've ever seen. The police decision to charge the demonstrators three times wielding batons was bad enough, but to do it in a tunnel where thousands of people had to run backwards towards another crowd of people was asking for another Hillsborough disaster to take place.
"We were lucky there were so few injuries."
The coalition met with police yesterday to go over routes for next Saturday's march, which will meet at Speaker's Corner and proceed to the Israeli embassy.
Organisers used the opportunity to raise concerns about last Saturday's protest. When politics.co.uk asked Mr Rees what he expected to get out of the complaint, he replied: "Frankly not a lot, but if you don't raise it you don't get anywhere.
"The aim is to convince police they shouldn't be deploying riot police against anti-war demonstrations and that whatever police are deployed they don't behave like they did on Saturday."
Israeli's military action in Gaza Strip is entering its 11th day today, with Israeli troops deep in the Gaza Strip and no obvious end in sight.
