MAY DAY marches and rallies continued across Britain today with Palestine solidarity prominent in the traditional celebrations.

Mobilisations took place in Chesterfield, Derbyshire and Salford in Greater Manchester, where Palestine flags and banners marched alongside trade union banners.

In Chesterfield, Dima al-Shami, who was born in Gaza but grew up and lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, made an impassioned plea for protests and demands for a ceasefire in Gaza to continue and intensify.

She condemned the deliberate targeting by Israel of hospitals, schools and universities in Gaza and attacked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his description of protesters as “extremists.”

“There is nothing extreme about campaigning against 75 years of settler colonisation and six months of genocidal attacks on a largely civilian population,” she said.

Civil Service union PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said arms manufacturers in Britain were “lining their pockets” by selling Israel weapons which have killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza.