LONDON — Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters urged Wimbledon to drop Barclays as a sponsor Monday because of the British bank’s business dealings with Israel.

About two dozen protesters from Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstrated near the main entrance of the All England Club, as thousands of fans arrived for Day 1 of the tennis tournament.

“They’re the bank for the arms companies that are obviously supplying weapons to Israel,” protester Khalid Zalmay told The Associated Press. “We should not be arming Israel, we should not be allowing anybody to facilitate arming them, and I think ties should be cut with Israel, the same way that ties were cut with Russia.”

One protester held a sign that said Barclays is a “sponsor of Wimbledon and genocide.”

Wimbledon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Barclays said it is “proud of our partnership with Wimbledon” and defended its business........

© The Times of Israel