Palestine solidarity 'key cause for progressives'

While the situation in Gaza has not improved since Israel massacred 1,400 civilians there a year ago, there has been a shift in global political opinion, activists and academics said.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign chairman Hugh Lanning said the "seismic" change in trade union support must become a mass movement and boycott campaign through "multipliers" - people talking about Palestine at work, in schools and with families and friends.

Viva Palestina organiser Kevin Ovenden said activists should have the Free Nelson Mandela concert in Wembley Stadium in 1988 in their sights - but this time to free imprisoned Palestinian MP Marwan Barghouti and Palestine.

And he stressed that, rather than fuelling extremism and separatism, raising the question of Palestine is "one step from the radicalisation which can feed into the progress we need to see in British politics."