DHAKA: Thousands of people protesting Israel’s war on Gaza rallied at one of Bangladesh’s top universities on Monday in solidarity with the student-led protests and occupations sweeping the globe. 

Pro-Palestinian student leaders and activists from different universities marched and carried flags of Bangladesh and Palestine, chanting slogans in solidarity with Gaza as they made their way to Dhaka University, Bangladesh’s largest and oldest tertiary institution. 

Their protest culminated at the symbolic Aparajeyo Bangla sculpture, one of the most well-known landmarks dedicated to the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

“Our stance is very clear: We express solidarity in support of a free Palestine state, in favor of a world free from war. And we support the demands made by US students, like divestment from Israel and other organizations that support the Israeli aggression,” Saddam Hussain, president of the organizing student group Bangladesh Students’ League, told Arab News. 

They are also rallying in solidarity with the global student movement, he added. 

“We believe all protests hold the same spirit of the youth, be it on the banks of the Atlantic or here on the bank of River Padma,” he said. 

“The youths around the world have a common dream, and I urge all of them to move forward to make this dream come true. I hope all the youths of the world will join in this protest to build a world free from war, free and guided with humanitarian spirit.”

The Israeli strikes on Gaza that began in October have killed nearly 35,000 people in the Palestinian territory, mostly women and children. The leader of the World Food Program said over the weekend that parts of the Gaza strip were experiencing a “full-blown famine” that was spreading across the besieged enclave. 

Students started to rally or set up tents at various universities around the US last month to protest Israel’s war on Gaza, sparking a global solidarity movement among the youth in India, Australia, France and elsewhere, with many putting pressure on their administrators and governments to cut ties with Tel Aviv. 

While US colleges have seen protests since October, the unrest has escalated in recent weeks after police arrested pro-Palestine demonstrators at an encampment in Columbia University, sparking even more campsites at other campuses, as well as more crackdowns and arrests.

Unlike in the US, students in Dhaka were able to protest peacefully with scant police presence.

“The US and some other big players always speak in favor of freedom of speech. But what we have seen in the university campuses in the US is a shame for world leaders,” Solaiman Khan, a 23-year-old Dhaka University student, told Arab News. 

“It’s a double standard. We, the youth (of Bangladesh), came out to the streets against this sort of hypocrisy from the superpowers of the world.” 

Khan said the violence against Palestinians must be “stopped now and forever.” 

“We have seen enough atrocities done by the Israeli forces. How many more lives must the world lose? Is it not enough?” he said. 

“I think world leaders should come to their senses and act more rationally in stopping the atrocities in Gaza orchestrated by the occupying Israeli forces. Now is the time to play a decisive role. Otherwise, the next generation will not forgive us.”

LONDON: Pro-Palestinian activists have presented a list of 18 demands to the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party and said they will not vote for the party at the next general election if he does not fulfill them.

The Muslim Vote, a campaign to get Muslim voters to back pro-Palestine candidates, has called for Sir Keir Starmer to promise to cut military ties with Israel, implement a travel ban on Israeli politicians involved in the war in Gaza and impose sanctions on companies operating in occupied territories. 

The group told Starmer he must commit to “real action” and deliver on its requests if he was “serious” about his pledge to rebuild trust with those angered by his stance on the conflict in Gaza, The Telegraph reported.

Supporters would vote for the Green Party or Liberal Democrats if he could not commit to their demands, it said.

Labour’s campaign chief Pat McFadden acknowledged that Starmer’s approach to the conflict had cost the party votes at last week’s local elections. Support for Labour dropped dramatically in areas with a high Muslim populations, including Oldham in Greater Manchester, where the party lost overall control of the council in a shock defeat.

After the result, Starmer said he was determined to regain the trust of those who abandoned Labour as a result of his stance on the Gaza war but did not make any concrete pledges on the matter.

The Muslim Vote challenged Starmer with committing to the 18 demands and implementing them should he become the next prime minister.

They include removing the definition of extremism introduced by Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove and issuing guidance that allows Muslims to pray at school.