Occupied Palestine, 18 October 2012 – The Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (PTUC-BDS), the largest coalition of Palestinian trade unions and professional syndicates, stands in solidarity with working families across the UK marching on October 20 against cuts and austerity and for “A Future that Works”.

Mahmoud Sarsak is a Palestinian footballer who has played for the Palestinian national team. He was released from prison by Israel in July after three years of detention and 92 days of hunger strike that was supported by people of conscience all over the world, including prominent football figures.

We are writing to you from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) to urge you in the strongest terms to cancel your co-sponsorship of the public lecture on “The Crisis of Governance in the Middle East”, co-organized with the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) and the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya to be held in Herzliya on October, 10, 2012.

Palestinian civil society unequivocally rejects FC Barcelona’s attempt to “balance” its invite of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier responsible for enforcing Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza and party to war crimes, by offering tickets to Palestinians so they can also attend next weekend’s El Clásico against Real Madrid.