Scores of protesters marched in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew on Saturday expressing support for Palestine and demanding that the Jamaican government cut diplomatic ties with Israel.

Israel is engaged in a sweeping military assault against Hamas militants in Gaza after the militant group launched an attack on southern Israeli communities last October.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has so far killed more than 30,000 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, and has triggered international outrage.

A pro-Palestine protester at Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree on Saturday, May 18, 2024.

Placard-bearing protesters in Half-Way-Tree on Saturday demanded more action from the Jamaican government in condemning what they label as “genocide” by Israeli forces in the region.

“We are asking the government to stop calling this violence in a very vague sense and start being specific,” Christophe Simpson, Chairman and First Secretary of Jamaica Lands, organisers of the protest, said. “They have not been open in accusing Israel of committing a genocide and that is what we want them to do, call it a genocide, it is a genocide.”

Among the other demands by the protesters are for the government to disclose all deals that it has with Israel and cut all diplomatic ties.

Pro-Palestine protesters at Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree on Saturday, May 18, 2024.

The Government of Jamaica last month took the decision to recognise the State of Palestine, a move which has been welcomed by the activists.

“Our fourth demand was to recognise the state of Palestine and to support its entry into the UN (United Nations). That demand our Government has agreed to and we welcome that development but it’s not enough,” Simpson told Observer Online.

Pro-Palestine protesters at Mandela Park in Half-Way-Tree on Saturday, May 18, 2024.