Peace group remember the children of Gaza

Dr Farrukh Zia with peace group member Pat Sanchez signing the petition to end perceived war crimes in Gaza.

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group marked the first anniversary of Israel's attacks on the people of Gaza by publicly reading the names of 313 of the hundreds of Palestinian children who were killed during the attacks.

Peace group members gathered in the walkway above Rochdale bus station on Saturday morning (16 January) to remind people of the deaths of 1400 Palestinian civilians and four Israeli civilians killed during operation 'Cast Iron', and of the ongoing siege of Gaza.

They asked people to sign a petition calling on the government to exert international pressure to implement the recommendations of the Goldstone Report, which include investigation of war crimes committed during the three week assault by the Israelis and an immediate end to the siege of Gaza.

A placard at their stall read, "GAZA: Remember The Children Killed. Prosecute War Criminals".

Amongst the local people supporting the petition was Dr Farrukh Zia. Dr Zia works at the Accident and Emergency Unit at Rochdale Infirmary and in November 2009 he was a member of the Rochdale based Health Aid UK medical team which visited the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories.