Pro-Palestine protestors came to a branch of Barclays bank to criticise its alleged involvement in the conflict in the Middle East.

Oldham's protests on Yorkshire Street were among a number of protests across the North West on Saturday (November 25).

The action came on the second day of a four-day truce in the Middle East, the first truce in around eight weeks of war, allowing for the arrival of aid in the Gaza Strip and for the release of prisoners on both sides.

However Israel said it is set to resume its offensive on the Gaza Strip, itself a response to an offensive by Hamas, at the end of the truce with a death toll of almost 15,000 people in the region set to rise as a result.

On Saturday, Jacqui Greenfield, of Oldham Peace and Justice, said there is to be no peace unless there is a push for it by everyone including businesses such as Barclays bank.

She and other Pro-Palestine protestors criticised its alleged involvement in the conflict in the Middle East, saying it provides services for arms companies responsible for supplying Israel with military technology, such as Elbit Systems and Raytheon Systems.

Ms Greenfield, from Saddleworth, said: "It is horrendous. There is to be no peace unless there is a push for a peaceful solution and one of the things we are able to do is get to the heart of where the power is. Barclays has over a billion in arms companies like Elbit Systems, like Raytheon Systems, which are supplying all the technology to keep it going and going. 

"It is important to do what we can, where we can, to put the pressure on because we put the pressure on for years at Cairo House and we got Elbit out of Oldham last year."

The departure of Elbit from Oldham came after a number of demonstrations outside its site on Greenacres Road with the demonstrators claiming the sale of the site as a "victory".

Barclays Bank declined to comment on the action on Saturday (November 25).

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.