Peaceful pro-Palestine protestors in the North of Ireland were yet again subjected to violent assaults in two separate incidents in Belfast over the weekend.
Violent Islamophobia-motivated attack on pro-Palestine protesters
In the first attack, a demonstrator who was part of a protest at BBC Broadcasting House building was struck in the face during an attempted theft of a Palestine flag. Witnesses reported two visibly intoxicated men – one still holding a bottle of alcohol – charge towards the protestors. As they lunged for the flag shouting “get that fucking flag out of our country”, one Palestine activist was hit, before a tussle ensued over possession of the flag. After the fracas, the two drunken thugs continued with an Islamophobic tirade, saying:
Fuck Islam! Take Islam back to your own country, you Muslim bastards!
None of the protestors present were Muslim. The parting act of the racists was to hurl the bottle of alcohol in the general direction of the activists. When it broke on the ground, a large shard of glass struck a passerby on the neck, though no injury was sustained.
BBC and Barclays bank: both complicit in genocide
The group present at the BBC had been there as part of a regular protest intended to highlight the ongoing failures in the corporation’s coverage of so-called Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
In one speech, an activist drew attention to an incident on Radio 4’s Today programme in which human rights lawyer and United Nations (UN) official Chris Sidoti was absurdly asked whether the organisation is a “Hamas proxy” and “openly antisemitic”. This is part of a pattern in which the broadcaster straight-facedly uses patently ridiculous Zionist talking points. Presumably, to maintain consistency, its journalists will solemnly call on astronomers to urgently answer flat-earther claims that the planet can’t be round if the horizon always appears flat.
The second incident occurred outside Barclays bank on Castle Place. Another routine fixture for protest in the city, the bank frequently sees activists picket outside to highlight its support for the arms companies whose weapons have rendered Gaza almost entirely uninhabitable. The genocide-backing financial institution has bankrolled the likes of Britain’s BAE Systems, which was reported to have:
cooperated with Lockheed Martin, one of the largest arms companies in the world, to develop F-35 fighter jets, which have been sold to Israel.
The warplane has played a key role in the Zionist entity’s murderous campaign. The bank also has an agreement with the illegitimate state to act as a primary dealer for their government bonds, helping them to directly:
raise money to fund its genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.
Older protester dangerously barged to the ground
While drawing attention to the above crimes, an older woman was barged to the ground when gently offering a man an informational leaflet, causing her to strike her head against the paving. The man – estimated to be in his late 50s – then attempted to flee the scene, and another activist tried to get hold of the attacker and perform a citizen’s arrest, though he did ultimately manage to escape.
Witnesses reported the Police Service of Northern Ireland [PSNI] arriving after around 5 minutes, with the attending officers informing those present that the guilty party had been captured nearby in the vicinity of City Hall. A witness, named Ann, praised the attitude of individual officers in dealing with the victim, but questions must be asked about why the PSNI did not already have a presence at the well-known picket, which has been subject to harassment from hostile Zionists previously.
They have instead typically been more keen to criminalise Palestine supporters, such as an infamous case where cops bundled a 72-year-old Jewish grandmother into the back of a police van for allegedly placing an anti-genocide sticker on the Barclays ATM machine, despite videos clearly showing no damage had occurred. That case remains ongoing and is in the hands of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
Irish cops stay true to form: reprimanding peaceful Palestine protesters
Following the incident on Saturday, the PSNI remained true to form, choosing to reprimand the activist who had bravely attempted to stop the attacker’s escape. The effort to apprehend the attacker apparently did not meet the very narrow rules required to make a citizen’s arrest, so witnesses saw an officer lecturing the anti-genocide protestor for “laying hands on” the fleeing culprit.
The injured woman was taken to hospital, where she was assessed by medical staff and released later that evening. She was left with a large lump on the back of her head, and instructed to rest and be alert for symptoms consistent with head injury that may emerge in the coming days. The witness, Ann, said the incident could have been much more serious, even potentially fatal.
It follows previous incidents in recent weeks in which activists have been pelted with eggs, struck in the face with a camera, and assaulted while putting up posters.
Campaigners that the Canary spoke to expressed hope the assault would be a wake-up call for politicians and police, who will now hopefully recognise the necessity of stepping up actions against a resurgent far-right that is increasingly turning to violence to target migrants and the Palestine movement.
Featured image via the Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.