Peres' London Visit Protested

Thursday March 31, 2011 10:00 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Dozens of Protesters gathered Wednesday in front of the Chatham House research institute in London to protest allowing Israeli President, Shimon Peres, to visit the institute and giving him the podium to deliver his speech.

Israeli President - Shimon Peres

Peres was invited to speak at the institute marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UK.

The protesters chanted slogans supporting the Palestinian people and condemning the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks against them.

They also demanded Israel to lift the deadly siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and described Peres as a "war criminal who should be apprehended and prosecuted instead of being honored".

Peres was invited by the Chatham House to talk about Israeli-British relations.

Zaher Beetway, spokesperson of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, one of the groups that organized the protest, stated that such an invitation encourages the occupation to continue and escalate its crimes against the Palestinian people.

“The time has come for this government to be truthful to itself and its people”, Beetawy said, “It should stop covering up for Israel's crimes”.

Peres started a tour in Britain on Tuesday following a tour in Switzerland. The tours drew condemnation among human rights organizations and Palestine solidarity groups.

Israeli sources reported that Peres knew about the protests before hand as the Israeli embassy in London received information in this regard.

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