Members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign staged a protest outside the British Consulate in Cape Town on Friday. They were demanding that the United Kingdom withdraw their support to Israel, accusing them and the United States of being accomplices in what they call genocide against the people of Palestine.

The protest action is part of a nationwide action to pressure countries to withdraw support for Israel and to stop supplying them with arms and diplomatic cover.

They braved the cold weather, hoisting Palestine flags and placards decrying famine and bombings of the innocent in Gaza.

After more than two hours of a peaceful protest in front of the Riebeeck Street office, they were ready to hand over the memorandum at the British Consulate.

However, there was no one from the Consulate to receive it.

Protest organiser Professor Usuf Chikte addressed the crowd, stating that they followed all protocols in organising the protest.

“We’ve gone through all the processes in terms of the gatherings act. We’ve alerted the city council. We told them we are going to see the UK consulate here in Cape Town. For some or other reason, the British consulate is closed in Cape Town today,” says Chikte.

Megan Choritz of the South African Jews For a Free Palestine is calling for all nations to support the people of Palestine.

“They provide the Israeli government with arms and with diplomatic cover by covering the protest in Britain itself to oppose the genocide that is taking place. We are not even telling the British it’s their obligation that they must stop the aiding and abetting the complicity of the genocide of the Palestinians,” says Choritz.

They say this is a national protest action with similar protests at other embassies in the country.

The British Embassy in Cape Town was, however, locked with a security guard at the complex saying the designated spokesperson is currently overseas.

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