Activists Set to March from London to Jerusalem

Palestinian ambassador to UK, Manuel Hassassian.

Ramallah, 12 Ramadan 1438/07 June 2017 (MINA) – A march from the city of London to the city of Jerusalem in solidarity with Palestinians who are still under Israeli occupation is set to start on Saturday and is expected to last for five months, WAFA quoted Manuel Hassassian, Palestine’s UK ambassador, as telling Voice of Palestine radio on Tuesday.

Participants will walk from London to Jerusalem in the march that it set to end in November, the 100-year anniversary for the Belfour declaration when then British Foreign Secretary James Balfour promised a homeland for Europe’s Jews in Palestine.

Hassassian said this activity is organized in solidarity with the Palestinian people as they mark 50 years for the June 1967 war, when Israel occupied what was left of Palestine, namely the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The anniversary comes as hopes dim for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and with heavy skepticism surrounding US President Donald Trump’s pledge to reach the “ultimate deal”.
The 1967 conflict that greatly empowered Israel but began its continuing occupation of Palestinian land is seen from starkly different viewpoints.

With its stunning victory over neighboring Arab countries, Israel vastly expanded its territory with global implications.

For Israelis, the war meant the culmination of the Jewish people’s 2,000-year quest to return to Jerusalem.

Palestinians see the theft of their land and a gradual effort by hardline Israelis to extend their country from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean — leaving no room for a Palestinian state. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)