Public meeting on Action for Peace for Palestine in Lancaster this Saturday

The meeting comes at a time of growing calls for a permanent ceasefire, in the face of tens of thousands of deaths from bombing, including thousands of children, and the imminent threat of starvation and dehydration.

The aim of the afternoon meeting is to hear from inspiring speakers, share Palestinian culture, and gather ideas to promote justice and peace for Palestine.

Weekly gatherings in the city centre on Saturdays at 1pm have continued without break since last October.

The Green Party meeting at 2pm-4pm at the Quaker Meeting House, Meeting House Lane, will follow this weekly protest.

The event will start with hot drinks and Palestinian light food, followed by speakers and discussion from 2.30pm-4pm.

There will also be music from 'Behind the Wheel'.

Speakers will include local campaigners Deena Jayousi, a British-Palestinian active in the local Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, and Gwenda Meredith, of Jewish Voice for Peace, whose mother came to England in 1939 on the Kindertransport.

Deena Jayousi said: 'We, the people of Lancaster, must act now. We cannot let the horror of thousands of deaths continue.”

Based on her own experience, Gwenda Meredith said: “I want all campaigners for peace to be mindful of the language we use to express the outrage and pain we share about these events in Palestine.”

In this spirit the meeting will bring together people from different viewpoints, to discuss and share fresh ideas for urgent local action.

Green councillor Gina Dowding, who has spoken at one of the events said: “It is clear that only outside pressure will stop Israel's mass killing. The Green Party is calling not only for a ceasefire but also for sanctions in order that the Israeli Government recognises the need for justice for the Palestinian people.”