LONDON: Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Tuesday outside a major arms fair in London as it opened without the presence of Israeli government officials because of tension between Britain and Israel over the Gaza conflict.
Police watched as around 300 protesters waved Palestinian flags and held up placards including one reading “UK: Stop arming Israel. Stop the Gaza Genocide.”
The British government excluded the officials from the four-day event, but 51 Israeli defense companies are set to attend, including major arms manufacturer Elbit.
Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries, both government-owned, will also have exhibitions, making Israel the fifth-largest national contingent at the fair at the Excel London exhibition center.
The Israeli companies “should be investigated for crimes against humanity, not invited to profit from the unspeakable devastation they have caused in Gaza,” Campaign Against Arms Trade spokesperson Emily Apple said in a statement.
Britain’s defense ministry announced at the end of August that no Israeli government delegation had been invited, citing Israel’s “decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza.”
Israel labelled the exclusion of its officials from the Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) fair as “discrimination.”
At the same time, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due in London on Tuesday for a three-day official visit.
‘Offensive weapons’
The arms fair “includes unrivalled access to international governments, ministries of defense... alongside all UK front line commands,” according to the DSEI UK website.
A record number of exhibitors and visitors are expected at the event, as global conflicts including the Russia-Ukraine war have prompted European and other governments to ramp up military spending.
France, which is also represented at the show, had in June blocked access to the stands of several Israeli arms manufacturers at the Paris Air show for displaying what it termed “offensive weapons.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Britain will formally recognize a Palestinian state later this month if Israel does not take steps, including agreeing to a ceasefire in the Gaza war, which was sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
London has suspended trade talks with Israel over the conflict, as well as some export licenses for arms used in Gaza, but some UK-made parts, such as components for Israeli F-35 jets, are still exported.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally outside London arms show
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Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally outside London arms show
- The British government excluded the officials from the four-day event, but 51 Israeli defense companies are set to attend
Bangladesh begins exhuming mass grave from 2024 uprising
- The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power — deaths that formed part of her conviction last month for crimes against humanity
DHAKA: Bangladeshi police began exhuming on Sunday a mass grave believed to contain around 114 unidentified victims of a mass uprising that toppled autocratic former prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year.
The UN-supported effort is being advised by Argentine forensic anthropologist Luis Fondebrider, who has led recovery and identification missions at mass graves worldwide for decades.
The bodies were buried at the Rayerbazar Graveyard in Dhaka by the volunteer group Anjuman Mufidul Islam, which said it handled 80 unclaimed bodies in July and another 34 in August 2024 — all people reported to have been killed during weeks of deadly protests.
The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power — deaths that formed part of her conviction last month for crimes against humanity.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Md Sibgat Ullah said investigators believed the mass grave held roughly 114 bodies, but the exact number would only be known once exhumations were complete.
“We can only confirm once we dig the graves and exhume the bodies,” Ullah told reporters.
- ‘Searched for him’ -
Among those hoping for answers is Mohammed Nabil, who is searching for the remains of his brother Sohel Rana, 28, who vanished in July 2024.
“We searched for him everywhere,” Nabil told AFP.
He said his family first suspected Rana’s death after seeing a Facebook video, then recognized his clothing — a blue T-shirt and black trousers — in a photograph taken by burial volunteers.
Exhumed bodies will be given post-mortem examinations and DNA testing. The process is expected to take several weeks to complete.
“It’s been more than a year, so it won’t be possible to extract DNA from the soft tissues,” senior police officer Abu Taleb told AFP. “Working with bones would be more time-consuming.”
Forensic experts from four Dhaka medical colleges are part of the team, with Fondebrider brought in to offer support as part of an agreement with the UN rights body the OHCHR.
“The process is complex and unique,” Fondebrider told reporters. “We will guarantee that international standards will be followed.”
Fondebrider previously headed the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, founded in 1984 to investigate the tens of thousands who disappeared during Argentina’s former military dictatorship.
Authorities say the exhumed bodies will be reburied in accordance with religious rites and their families’ wishes.
Hasina, convicted in absentia last month and sentenced to death, remains in self-imposed exile in India.
