More than 100 fly-posters championing the Palestinian cause were put up Sunday on the London Underground's trains to mark the start of the 2016 Israeli Apartheid Week in the United Kingdom.
The move was the work of London Palestine Action that participates in movements such as Apartheid Week – an annual solidarity week that raises awareness about the Palestinian cause through a variety of events across the world.
"Israel and its supporters are used to having the mainstream media repeat their talking points. We put up around 150 posters on the tube to shine a spotlight on the support Israel gets from the UK: the government, arms industry and companies like G4S," the group said on its website .
The posters were purposefully made to have the glossy appearance of an advertisement and strategically plastered over the existing advertisements in the underground trains. They focus on the relationship between a number of prominent British bodies and the Israeli state.
In one, the group points out the bias in the BBC's coverage of killings in the Palestinian territories by using a quote from former BBC Middle East correspondent Tim Llewellyn.
He said: "We have become used to the fact that, in a BBC newsroom, an Israeli life is worth the lives of an infinite number of Palestinians."
"BBC was forced to admit its coverage of the situation in the West Bank has been misleading and refuses to acknowledge Palestinian deaths and their suffering under occupation," the LPA said, commenting on the poster.
One poster, which says "apartheid is Great Britain," points out that more than 100 U.K. companies supply Israel with British-made arms. Another shows a destroyed Palestinian home, captioned "this is not Gaza, this is Jerusalem."
"By purchasing arms from and selling arms to Israel, the U.K. government is giving direct material support for Israel’s aggression and sending a clear message of approval for its actions," the group said.
The posters caused an uproar after going viral online and making headlines around the world. On Monday, Israeli authorities, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly asked British authorities to remove them from the trains.
In response, the LPA made the posters available online Tuesday, putting up high-quality digital copies for users to download. The group defines itself as a "network of people in London taking creative action against Israeli apartheid through BDS and other effective, participatory Palestine solidarity work."
The LPA is one of hundreds of Palestinian solidarity groups across the world that have joined the decade-old Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The global movement calls for the acknowledgment of Palestinian rights through a number of objectives.
Like BDS, the LPA's main aims are "ending the occupation and dismantling the Wall, ending systematic discrimination against Palestinians in Israel" and finally "recognizing and implementing the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes."