Support for ceasefire growing in Brighton and Hove as hundreds gather in Churchill Square

Several new local groups have sprung up here over the past few months, because people are horrified by the Israeli army’s merciless assault on Palestinians, with the death toll fast approaching 26,000. This figure includes 10,000 children and an estimated 7,000 men, women and children dying slow, agonising deaths buried under rubble. There are also almost 62,000 people wounded, and, according to the United Nations, at least a fifth of Palestinians trapped in Gaza are already starving to death, with the remaining population teetering on the edge of famine and fighting disease caused by no access to medical treatment, heat or clean water.

New groups include the Brighton & Hove Ceasefire Coalition bringing together concerned citizens and local activists; Parents for Palestine Brighton, who organise family-friendly events celebrating Palestinian culture, such as kite-flying, cooking and textile workshops; and Artist Action Brighton, who are today drawing attention to the genocide case against Israel being heard in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Artist Action Brighton organiser Tanushka Marah says: “As artists and above all, as fellow human beings, we cannot stand by and do nothing while hundreds of innocent people are slaughtered daily. We are here today to bring home to shoppers and passers-by the crimes against humanity taking place on an unimaginable scale in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. We support the case being brought before the ICJ and call on all our political representatives to urge the Israeli government to stop the killing now.”

Several members of Artist Action Brighton dressed as International Court judges and broadcast statements from the ICJ legal teams, who say we are witnessing:

“A crisis of humanity, a living hell, a bloodbath, a situation of utter deepening and unmatched horror.”

“An entire population is besieged and under attack.”

“Gaza has become a place of death and despair.”

Tanushka Marah adds: “People across Brighton & Hove and across the world are joining together to say that we will not sit by quietly while innocent civilians are killed. Politicians must look into their own hearts and not continue to ignore the huge humanitarian movement that is happening before our eyes.”

“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.” Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian holocaust survivor.