Tens of thousands at pro-Palestinian march in London
Thousands of individuals participated in a pro-Palestinian procession in central London, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), advocating for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Saturday’s march marked the first demonstration to approach the Israeli embassy in west London since a static rally held in October. Approximately 1,500 officers were deployed to oversee the protest, which attendees described as one of the largest they had experienced.
During the event, five individuals were arrested in connection with an incident, suspected of assaulting an emergency worker, with an additional seven arrests reported.
Among the arrests, one person was detained on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organization, another for obstruction, two for allegedly refusing to remove a face covering upon request, and three for engaging in abusive or threatening conduct or displaying materials likely to incite racial hatred.
BBC News saw tens of thousands of people at the start of the march at Marble Arch.
PSC criticized the government and Labour for refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire. The campaign group’s Ben Jamal said there was “mounting pressure from world leaders” on Israel.
“The moral imperative is clear. An immediate ceasefire is a simple, absolute necessity,” he said.
It was the first demonstration in the area of the Israeli embassy since a protest was held two days after the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas, a group designated as a terror organization by the UK government.
Police restricted the start time of the march to ensure an event taking place at a synagogue would finish before the protest passed by the building.
The march set off along Park Lane around 13:30 GMT and made its way along Knightsbridge and Kensington Road to near the Israeli embassy in Kensington, where speeches were taking place.
Addressing the crowd, the Palestinians’ top envoy to the UK, Husam Zomlot, said: “Hang on to your anger, hang on to your enragement, hang on to your horror and use it, use it in the pursuit of justice.”
Protesters had been told by police the march must stop by 17:00 and that demonstrators had to leave by 18:00.
Cdr Kyle Gordon appealed for marchers to stay within the law after the force dealt with several offenses involving placards and hate speech at previous protests.
The protest faced criticism from Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy, who accused the march of being “another antisemitic hate parade through London”.
Protests have also taken place in Sydney and Istanbul.
Israel launched its military offensive after waves of Hamas fighters burst through Israel’s border on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people – mainly civilians – and taking about 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 28,600 people, mainly women and children – have been killed in Israel’s campaign. Israel says it aims to destroy Hamas and secure the return of the hostages.
Israel is being urged not to send ground forces into Rafah in southern Gaza and on the Egyptian border, where many Palestinians are living after areas closer to their homes were affected by fighting.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a pause in fighting to get aid and hostages, and a “sustainable ceasefire”.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said the government supports a “move from a pause – to get aid in and hostages out – towards a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a long-term political solution, including a Palestinian state”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told BBC News on Saturday “We all want to get to a ceasefire” in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for an “immediate” ceasefire.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Sir Keir said: “We do need to get to a ceasefire, we all want to get to a ceasefire. The question is how do we get there? The fighting has to stop. Any assault on Rafah must be repelled, we must not allow that to go ahead”.
But Scottish Labour has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
