Pro-Palestinian group take protest to Carlisle's Barclays branch

The public protest, calling for a boycott of the bank,  was part of a national campaign to raise awareness of the bank’s 'financial ties' with arms companies supplying Israel. 

"The campaign is similar to the one run in the 1980s when Barclays funded apartheid in South Africa," a spokesperson from Palestine Solidarity Group Carlisle & District said. 

"Boycotts, sanctions and ordinary people taking action made a difference then, and we are hoping it will now," they said. 

Campaigners take to Barclays' entrance (Image: Supplied)

Following the calls outside the bank, campaigners held their weekly vigil in the city centre, standing in solidarity with Palestinians impacted by the ongoing conflict.

In the last six months, the group has so far raised over £4,000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians through consistent weekly vigils and various fundraising events. 

They used the weekend to spotlight the conditions currently facing Palestinian political prisoners, the day is marked every April 17. 

Placards held in Carlisle's City Centre to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day (Image: Supplied)

According to human rights groups, Addameer, more than 8,000 Palestinians are being held in Israel, an increasing number following the attacks by Hamas on October 7. 

"Journalists are being incarcerated in unprecedented numbers due to the use of ‘incitement’ laws, which means that Palestinian’s social media posts can see them imprisoned for up to two years for sympathising with children being bombed in Gaza," a spokesperson said. 

"This has the effect of silencing Palestinians, controlling the narrative,  and keeping them from highlighting the oppressions they suffer." 

The Palestine Solidarity group will be holding an event alongside Amnesty to highlight further details of the ongoing situation for Palestinians on Friday, April 26 at 6 pm, at the Church of Scotland, Chapel Street, Carlisle.

Barclays has previously been approached for comment.