Protest in solidarity with Palestinians held in Maidenhead town centre

A ‘calm and collected’ protest of solidarity with Palestinian people took place in Maidenhead town centre at the weekend – joining other protests in surrounding areas this weekend and last.

On Saturday, protesters in Maidenhead decried the situation for Palestinians in Gaza as the war continues in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The protest started at the Town Hall with some speeches, then its participants travelled down the St Ives Road, High Street, King Street, the train station, Stafferton way, Forlease Road and back towards the Town Hall.

Maidenhead campaigner Sajid Khan said: “It’s a really upsetting situation for people in the UK. I have had a lot of people come to me personally, upset.

“It was raining, it was miserable but about 150 people joined the demonstration which was pretty impressive given the weather was bad. There was a funeral at the mosque and people sent their apologies – we were expecting a lot more, communities are really, really upset about what’s going on.

“It’s just too much, people are losing a lot of sleep over this. It’s very, very painful.”

Sajid said the protest itself went well, with a ‘calm and collected’ atmosphere – and that police raised no concerns over the protest.

Meanwhile, three religious leaders met this week to call for peace and community – and not to let international events sour relations locally.