A series of pro-Palestine protests have been planned at Barclays branches across the North West.
Co-ordinated protests are planned in Blackburn, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Altrincham, Manchester, Stockport, and Rochdale on Saturday, November 25, at 11am.
The organisers of the rallies say the demonstrations are calling to ‘Stop Barclays Bank’s supports for the Gaza Genocide.’
According to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Barclays 'provides more than £3 billion in loans and underwriting to companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in Israel’s armed violence against Palestinians'.
These include weapons manufacturer Raytheon, which sells products to companies all over the world, including the USA, Poland, Qatar, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, which builds diggers and bulldozers used all over the world.
It follows weeks of demonstrations by Palestine supporters calling for a cease to fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
On October 7, Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in Israel, killing hundreds of innocent civilians, injuring many hundreds more and taking hostages.
Israel has responded with heavy aerial bombardment of Gaza followed by ground forces moving in, while also blockading water, fuel and aid which it was widely criticised for.
Israel Defence Forces claim its missiles and attacks have been targeted on Hamas sites, however an estimated 13,000 innocent Palestinians, many of whom children, have been killed in the fighting, with around one million displaced.
Following negotiations, a temporary four-day ceasefire begins today (Friday) at 7am local time, to allow the release of 50 Israeli hostages and around 150 Palestinians detained by Israel.
In October, Reuters reported Barclays had frozen an account in the UK linked to Hamas has been frozen.
The bank account's details were published by Hamas "for the purpose of depositing donation funds", Israeli police said in a statement.
Barclays isn't the first company to be protested by Palestine demonstrations; earlier this month a rally was held outside Marks & Spencer in Blackburn, due to the shop's links to Israel, stocking Israeli products and being founded by a Jewish refugee.
The Lancashire Telegraph understands a number of restaurants in the town have also ceased selling Coca-Cola products in recent days, due to the company having a factory on Israeli-annexed land.
Barclay Bank has been approached for comment.
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