- A fire extinguisher full of red paint was used to spray the front of the building
Five people have been arrested after protesters scaled a Government building and replaced a Union flag with a Palestinian one in the latest Gaza ceasefire demo.
Red paint was also sprayed on Queen Elizabeth House on Sibbald Walk, Edinburgh by This is Rigged campaigners in a protest which began at 10am this morning.
A fire extinguisher full of red paint was used to spray the front of the building and water balloons containing red paint were thrown at the Government’s crest.
This Is Rigged said it is targeting the Government because of its position on the war in Gaza after Israel began its military operation last year, accusing ministers of being ‘complicit’ in the conflict.
The Government has resisted calls from protesters to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
A This is Rigged protester sits in front of Queen Elizabeth House after red paint was sprayed all over the building
The Union Flag on top of the Government offices was taken down and replaced with a Palestinian one
A This is Rigged campaigner wears a ‘boycott genocide’ t-shirt outside Queen Elizabeth House
It is understood water balloons full of red paint were thrown at the Government crest on the building
This week, Downing Street said it wants to see a ‘sustained humanitarian pause’ agreed as quickly as possible to allow the safe release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and a significant increase in aid to Gaza.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: ‘Around 10.30am on Wednesday, we were called to a report of a protest at a building in Sibbald Walk in Edinburgh.
‘Five people have been arrested and inquiries are ongoing.’
This Is Rigged campaigner Catriona Roberts, 21, who is a history student from Perthshire, said: ‘As Palestine is bombed, burned and starved, this Government is complicit.
‘I cannot emphasise enough the importance of screaming out into the world that we will not abide genocide.’
Fred Spoliar, 31, also of This is Rigged, said: ‘Every hour without the UK Government taking action to put pressure on Israel is blood on their (the Government’s) hands.
‘It’s been five months – that’s a lot of hours, a lot of blood. This is unforgivable.’
The conflict was sparked by Hamas’s deadly raid into Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and saw militants seize about 250 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory strikes have left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
This Is Rigged and the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign are calling on the public to ‘boycott genocide’ and avoid companies and events they claim support or directly fund the Israeli state.
Two of the protesters on the roof of Queen Elizabeth House after the Union Flag was taken down
A Government spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the protests and the police are in attendance.
‘All of the staff in Queen Elizabeth House are safe and no-one has entered the building.’
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: ‘We agree that we want to see a sustained humanitarian pause agreed as quickly as possible to allow the safe release of hostages and a significant increase in aid to Gaza.
‘Our position is entirely aligned with the US who, like us, are calling for a pause in the fighting.
‘We have been clear, as has the US, that the right conditions, however, must be in place for a permanent, lasting ceasefire, and that includes the release of all hostages, Hamas no longer in charge in Gaza, and a bolstered Palestinian Authority.’
