Young supporters of the international development agency Christian Aid, and some of its partners are coming together on Sunday, April 28, for a pilgrimage around the UK capital to demand an end to UK weapons sales to Israel.
The group, made up of 18-30-year olds, will be setting off from Lambeth Palace – the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury – to highlight the fact their faith has called them to action. They will then cover four miles around London.
Bella Cross, Young Adults Campaigns Officer at Christian Aid, said: “With tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians slaughtered by the Israeli military, we felt it our moral responsibility to actively protest the continuation of arms sales to Israel.
“We will be holding vigil outside the offices of arms contractors Elbit, BAE Systems, L3 Harris, Lockheed Martin UK, and Boeing UK. We want to demonstrate against companies making profits from war, and we’ll be hearing prayers from partners and friends in the occupied Palestinian territory, to honour the thousands killed at the hands of weapons made in the UK.”
The pilgrimage will end at the Houses of Parliament to highlight the political choices being made that are making the UK complicit in what the ICJ is investigating as genocide, and to call on all political parties to oppose sending arms to Israel.
Christian Aid has been working through local partners in Gaza who are responding as best they can, under intense pressure, with community-led initiatives such as food, shelter, and medical supplies.
The organisation is also urging the UK’s political leaders to insist on compliance with international humanitarian law and the global Arms Trade Treaty, and to back calls for a permanent ceasefire to enable a safe and effective humanitarian response to the crisis in Gaza.
