Dorchester: Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign hold die-in

The Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign gathered outside of Barclays Bank on South Street in Dorchester on Saturday, June 29. The action was on a series of National Days of Action called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for a boycott of Barclays Bank, with group claiming the bank is 'bankrolling' Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

A die-in, also known as a lie-in, is a form of protest or demonstration in which a group of people gather and lie down as if dead.

Campaigners taking part in 'die-in' outside Barclays Bank (Image: Steve Pallant)

• READ MORE: Protestors march in Dorchester for a ceasefire in Gaza

Photographs from the protest shows people lying on the floor outside the bank, whilst others held up letters to spell the word genocide.

Campaigners holding up letters to speel the word genocide (Image: Steve Pallant) ​After the protest, a rally was held with speakers. Naira, a student at a local school, read a poem entitled ‘How Do I Explain?’ describing the impact of the war on her and those around her.

Campaigners protesting in Dorchester (Image: Dorset PSC)

• READ MORE: Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign march with students

Another activist, Jo, raised the issue of LGBTQ rights and Pride, currently being celebrated across the country, and the attacks on Gaza: "Up and down the country, groups and campaigns are pulling out of Pride parades funded by companies complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people.

“We say loudly and clearly, 'There is no Pride in genocide'. There is no place for corporation’s rainbow washing their crimes in Pride".

• READ MORE: Pro-Palestine protests in Dorchester and Weymouth

Rob Ferguson, secretary of DPSC told the protestors: "They have tried to silence our voices during the election but they have not succeeded. Protests are taking place today across Britain. Glastonbury is full of Palestinian flags and chants of Free Palestine.

“Two days after the election on 6 July there will be the first National Demonstration under the new government. The message will be loud and clear - We will not stop. We will not rest."

It comes after a sustained campaign of protests and marches in the county, with campaigners having held several protest in Dorchester, Weymouth and Bridport since the conflict broke out in October 2023.

Other protests have previously been carried out at the bank, as a spokesperson from the PSC said they are ‘calling on concerned people to boycott all Barclays services until the bank ends its complicity in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.’