A FUNDRAISING walk for Gaza from Hastings to Bexhill-on-Sea will go ahead despite threats and abuse from “violent thugs,” campaigners have said.

During a previous walk on July 20, a woman wearing a keffiyah was violently attacked at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill by a man who called her a terrorist.

In a separate incident, a man with an Israeli flag followed walkers, shouting threats.

The walk raised more than £4,300 for people in al-Mawasi, a town in Gaza with ties to Hastings.

Grace Lally of Hastings Friends of al-Mawasi said: “It’s no coincidence that in the weeks since the government labelled Palestine Action as terrorists, and the police started arresting peaceful anti-genocide protesters, we have seen an increase in threatening and violent behaviour by people who support Israel’s genocidal actions.

“By falsely labelling anti-genocide campaigners as some kind of threat, our government [is] emboldening violent thugs who now feel empowered to treat even young children on a fundraising walk as if they are ‘terrorists’ who deserve to be hounded and abused.”

A second walk will leave Hastings Stade beach at 11am on August 20 and arrive at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill around 1pm.