Words by Ed King / Pics by Connor Pope
Hundreds of people joined in solidarity with Palestine on Thursday 2 November, as a peaceful protest was staged at New Street Station – aiming to cause ‘mass disruption’ at the busy commuter hotspot.
Protest organisers were building on the momentum and attention gained by a similar protest at Liverpool Street Station in London on 31 October, calling for the UK government and Westminster to use their position on the global stage to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip – one of the two Palestinian territories in the Middle East, alongside the West Bank.
Organisers further called for the international community to stop their arms trade with Israel, which according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) generated £387 million for Britian through issued Single Individual Export Licenses (SIELs) from 2016 to 2020.
Ahead of the New Street Station demonstration, organisers expressed thanks to organisations Jewish Voice for Peace (United States) and Sisters Uncut – the latter a UK based charity ‘taking direct action for domestic violence services’ who were involved in the Liverpool Street Station protest.
Reports claim the protest began at around 4pm, with the final attendees having left the station by 8pm. Birmingham Review could find no significant incidents from the Birmingham New Street demonstration reported by British Transport Police, who were “aware of planned protests” taking place at stations across the UK.
Hamas, who took control of the Gaza Strip in 2026, after the last legislative election to be held in the territory, led attacks on Israel on 7 October – using a combination of missile attacks and ground invasion, reportedly killing over 1400 civilians and soldiers and kidnapping around 200 more.
The Israel Defence Force (IDF), who withdrew their longstanding military occupation of the Gaza Strip on 12 September 2005, initially retaliated with air strikes, and followed with a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip after giving civilians living there instructions to evacuate.
At the time of writing, over 9000 people have been reported to have been killed by the IDF operations in Gaza following the 7 October attacks.
All figures quoted have been corroborated by Al-Jazeera, an award winning news outlet based in Qatar and covering stories across the Middle East.
In solidarity with Palestine protest @ New Street Station – Thursday 2 November / Connor Pope
